Guild Wars
by Lithos Maitreya
Summary: When Kirigaya Kazuto logged into the full launch of Sword Art Online for the first time, he wasn't expecting to be stuck there for two years. But with friends beside him, a guild behind him, and swords in his hands, he's feeling okay about his chances. Guildmaster!Kirito, sanctioned rewrite/reimagining of the now-removed story "The Black Knights." Didn't see the takedown until now.
1. Chapter 1: Crossover

**EDIT NOTE: MARCH 15, 2016:**

 **So after receiving several well-intentioned reviews, some less-than-polite, regarding certain issues with this chapter, I made the decision to go back and run a full edit of the story so far. Since only three chapters have been posted at this point, the effort isn't too much. Besides some typo correction, the main changes include:**

 _Descriptive paragraphs have been added to most scenes. In addition, character and entity descriptions that I (and others) felt were lacking have been added._

 _The scene in the flashback where Kirito meets the people who will become his guild has been rewritten largely from scratch. Diabel's behavior was unbelievable. I find the edited version to stretch the reader's suspension of disbelief much less._

 **With that said, the chapter ends now with all the characters in the same positions and with the same character dynamics as they had in the initial form. Anyone who read the original need not reread if it satisfied them. Now on to the original A/N:**

 **A/N: Read "The Black Knights". I said I'd recommend it, so I did. It inspired this, and as such, this story is dedicated to that fic. It may well not be completed, but that doesn't change the fact that without it, I wouldn't be writing this now. This is the fic that was promised, two-odd years ago, to continue/reboot that one. Bit late, but here it is.**

 **(Er… this note was written a long time ago. Or at least that part was. I left it because I did promise to rec it… but that fic got taken down. I feel bad for taking so long. Here's the author, with their now-empty profile: u/4553034/)**

 **If anyone happens to know my Naruto stories, it may interest you to know that this is a continuation of my cliché-bending tradition. The SAO archive may only have 500 stories, but—as always—there are a couple of budding clichés I can use. Even if this one has, I think, two stories. Sum total. It's "Kirito's Guild", or GuildMaster!Kirito, if the summary didn't tell you that.**

 **The next seven paragraphs are a discussion of Sword Art Online, and how it relates to this story. Skip them if you're not interested. Disclaimer on that point: I haven't watched the second season past the first couple episodes—just haven't had time, and knew it wouldn't pertain to this fic—so anything I say relates exclusively to Season 1.**

 **SAO is a great setting. Hell, it's one of the best I've ever seen. The potential philosophical and psychological implications of a digital world where death is real are vast in scope. Unfortunately, the anime (and to a lesser degree even the light novels) screwed it up.**

 **Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the SAO anime. It was good fun to watch. The Aincrad Arc, at least. (ALO… less so. I kept hoping it would get good, and the final fight was a romp, but…) The light novels were quite good—I'm not far into the series yet (too busy) but I'm far enough to make that judgement. But they screwed up a few things, the anime in particular. Episodes one and two were fantastic. The Red-Nosed Reindeer was AMAZING. But the rest of the series lost sight of the whole point of the series—the setting.**

 **The setting was a masterpiece, and they lost sight of what made it so fantastic: the blurring of reality and game as the game became real enough to kill.**

 **(Also, they REALLY messed up Asuna's character; in episode 2 she was arguably the most badass female I've ever seen in an anime—in her next appearance she was right back into the stereotypical 'damsel-almost-in-distress' cliché which Metroid: Other M dropped Samus into. In fact, I make a lot of comparisons between Asuna and Samus. Both started out as compelling, strong female protagonists, and later degrading into something a bit less interesting. Asuna took it farther than Samus with ALO, but the comparison still stands. From what I've heard—I've never played a Tomb Raider game—much the same recently happened with Lara Croft.)**

 **In short, though, I'm here to take that setting and do what should have been done with it to begin with—discuss how 'virtual' virtual reality can be, and how very real it can become. I don't claim to be the perfect writer for this job, but nor do I claim exclusive right to DO the job—in fact, I encourage anyone who wants to give it their own shot. But for me, I just want to have something to enjoy that takes this setting—this fantastic setting—and makes it into all it could be.**

 **(And stays LOYAL to the CHARACTERS, who are also amazing, or could be. Kirito's as loyal to his own character as a pancake—that is to say, he keeps flipping back and forth. Solo player? Team player. Solo player. Effeminate? Hottest guy EVAR. Oh... now his sister/cousin too? And catgirls...? Hopefully I can do something about that WITHOUT breaking what of his character is there already.)**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **Sword Art Online is the property, in anime, manga, and novel form, of its owner(s), of which I am none. This fanfiction is merely a deviation from the established canon of, by, and for fans of the series. If you are not a fan of Sword Art Online, you should not be reading this, but rather supporting the official releases. Thank you.**

 **(No chance I'm doing another one of those. Almost never do them anyway.)**

 **And now…**

* * *

 **Guild Wars**

 _A Sword Art Online Fanfiction_

"… _Those who fail to complete their mission are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."  
-Hatake Kakashi (_Naruto _, by Kishimoto Masashi) [Translation from Japanese]_

" _And glory; eternal glory! We shall bear its weight together!"  
-Vode An, Mandalorian War Chant (George Lucas' _Star Wars _—specifically, the Republic Commando game) [Translation from Mando'a]_

* * *

Chapter 1: Crossover

" _Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one."  
-Albert Einstein_

* * *

Kirito blinked his eyes open and was met with the vibrant colors of the game. He could not keep a smile from creeping onto the face that, over the months of the beta test, had become his own.

 _I'm back_ , he thought.

Immediately he began looking around. The central square of the Starting Town was an open, circular area, lined along the outside with market stalls with vibrantly-colored covers. Most were empty—reserved for player merchants—but some few were staffed already by NPCs. In the center of the square was a fountain, and the gentle rushing sound of the water was almost drowned out by the excited babble of almost ten thousand people logging in at once.

The crowd made it difficult to find anyone specific. Kirito began to jog around the area, ducking under waving arms and sliding between bustling bodies, his eyes darting to and fro in search of…

There! The abnormal blue hair made him impossible to mistake—Kirito would recognize him anywhere.

With a grin, he rushed over, dodging carefully through gaps in the throng. "Diabel!"

Diabel turned and grinned at him. "Kirito! Good to see you! Good to be back, right?"

Kirito grinned, his altered appearance falling into the almost threatening look naturally, making it seem feral where his real form would have looked more feminine than anything else. "Absolutely! Shall we get back to where we left off?"

Diabel nodded with a smile. "Let's just find the others, all right?"

Kirito nodded, and with a laugh the two online friends began to search for the other two they had worked with in the beta.

It took at least four players to form a guild in this game: Sword Art Online, or SAO for short. Kirito had at first been inclined to play the game solo, but had been converted by Diabel as they fought together in the beta on the fourth floor. Kirito remembered it distinctly. He should, for it was the very last time he ever came close to dying in this game.

* * *

Kirito fell back against the floor. Over him stood a beast, slightly smaller than him—an Angry Hobgoblin, apparently. Its wrinkled skin was an unhealthy orange, and it was clad in rusty chainmail which barely held together over its frame in places. It was bald, and its narrowed red eyes had no brows. A pig's snout jutted out from where a human's mouth would be, but from within it bared unnaturally sharp, yellowed teeth.

It was weaker than him, but it wasn't what was killing him—no, that was the almost-twenty of its brethren that surrounded him on his other sides. This one was only going to take his last few HP.

Its eyes seemed to glint evilly as it raised its short axe—ridiculous, he knew, since this games mobs did not have such advanced AI—even the NPCs and Quest Givers didn't—and he gritted his teeth, waiting for the flash of light that would signal a respawn.

But it didn't come. There was a shout, a metallic _shing!_ noise, and then someone was shouting from above him, "Hey! Open your eyes—I have a crystal!"

Kirito opened his eyes with a start and accepted the blue-haired man's offer of healing. Then he stood with a muttered "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," said the man with a kind smile. Kirito could immediately see that he was, to use the RPG term that had become popular in the past few years, a "Paragon" player—one who always stayed on the good side of things. Kirito himself was not so clear cut, especially in Virtual Reality—it was harder to be moral and high-minded when everything seemed so _real_ —but he had a healthy respect for those who were.

The man wore fine steel scalemail over a blue tunic and white leggings. In his right hand was an unadorned blade of about three and a half feet, and in his left was a small, steel kiteshield adorned with a painted blue cross.

He took the opportunity to look around. There were two others flanking them. One was a stout, red-headed man with a bushy beard wearing heavy, finely-crafted plate armor. In his hands was a weighty, two-handed warhammer, with a head of what looked like granite. The other was a slim girl with waist-length blond hair, wearing hardened leathers studded with sliver. In her hands was a long, simple spear tipped with bronze.

The Angry Hobgoblins had retreated—the trio, it seemed, had killed more than one of them when they saved Kirito, but were now eying them all hungrily again. Kirito gritted his teeth. "Introductions later?" he suggested grimly.

The man who had healed Kirito grinned, and now there was a vicious side to the expression. "Right," he agreed, turning away and facing the line of Hobgoblins.

Kirito turned too and faced the beasts behind him. The other two pressed in and then the four of them were back-to-back, shoulder-to-shoulder, and the horde pressed forward. Kirito didn't know exactly how many there were; there had been twenty at some point, but now there might be less if these three had dented their numbers, or more if another set had been dragged in.

Kirito swallowed. "Thanks for the help," he said lowly. "Have you got a way out?"

The large man in plate chuckled. "They didn't look this… numerous… from the outside."

"Right," Kirito said. "When I jump in, plug the hole back up."

The horde charged. Kirito dove under one's notched sword and slashed at its side as he passed.

 _One down,_ he thought morbidly. _Lots to go._

He landed in a kneeling position on one knee and continued his sword up in its arc, blocking another Hobgoblin's swing. He drew himself up on his front leg and brought his back leg up with him before spinning and kicking the mob in the chest, pushing it away from him.

As it turned out, that monster was the outer edge of the ring. He was out. He could run now and the horde would likely focus on the poor saps who had come to save him.

He turned instead. The mad with sword and shield was trying vainly to protect the lighter-armored girl as she took potshots at range with her spear. The man with the hammer was bringing the weapon up and down almost rhythmically, heedless of the repeated hits he was taking.

Kirito grimaced and took out a Hobgoblinn from behind with a quick stab. "I'll make a path for you!" he called to the three of them. "Come this way!"

The man with the shield gave him a glance and a nod of confirmation. He slashed out and caught one mob in the next as Kirito watched. "Move!" he ordered.

"You face back!" Kirito told him. "Use your shield, dammit!" he swung his blade in an arc, slicing neatly through one Hobgoblin and catching on the ringmail of another with a light, percussive _chink!_ "Keep them off your friends' backs!"

The man nodded and faced away from Kirito while the other two surged into position, the man beginning to push monsters bodily out of the way while the girl lanced out at any target she could reach.

Kirito gutted one mob to his right while kicking another aside to his left. "Keep moving!" he ordered. "If you can get out of the ring you have a chance!" He brought his sword down hard on the back of another mob and then the three were in front of him.

He turned. "Run!" he commanded, and led the way.

They fled, the horde hot on their heels. Kirito brought up a hand as he sprinted to access his map. On his way here, he had gotten into a fight with a Taurus in a narrow corridor. If he could find it now…

 _There._ Just a few hundred paces away, if they took the correct turns.

"Follow me!" he called, and turned left into a side passage. The marble floor, brick walls, and high ceiling of the main route was replaced by the cracked cobblestones and mossy brickwork of a side passage, but this place was still too wide.

He led them down a right turn, and this place might have satisfied if all four of them were at full health. Kirito wished he was in a party with these three so he could see their healthbars, but as it stood he could only assume that, at the very least, the man with the warhammer had to be near the red zone after all the hits he'd taken. Four people could block this passage together, but as it stood thy had only two, Kirito figured, who could afford to take hits.

He took a left and then they were at the place. The corridor was narrow—about as wide as three people shoulder to shoulder, if they squeezed tightly, which meant that two could comfortably block it. The cobblestone beneath their feet was finer here, and the bricks seemed almost maintained, for only a few weeks' worth of moss covered them.

Kirito turned and squeezed himself up against the wall to allow the bearded man and the girl to pass. The final player turned beside him and raised his shield and then there was no more time for words or people.

The Hobgoblins were tightly packed so that three could attack the two players at once, but at the cost that they had only a narrow range of motion and couldn't swing their weapons properly. Unfortunately for Kirito, the first one to attack him had a spear and didn't need to swing.

He parried the blow with the flat of his sword and followed the shaft up and into the arm, and then the chest, of the beast that had attacked him.

Then the middle Hobgoblin slashed at him with its axe. He twisted his sword in its brother has he brought his arm around to catch the blow on the crossguard of his blade. The slashing metal sparked as the axe's blade slid down the flat of Kirito's sword.

Kirito pushed forward and the Hobgoblin staggered back and fell against its brethren. Kirito pulled his sword out of the impaled mod even as it shattered and swung in a low arc, taking out the legs of the next Hobgoblin and the left leg of the one he'd shoved before just as it began to recover. It staggered sideways and he dispatched it with a swipe downward.

Beside him, the man in blue was carefully blocking the mobs' hits. He was still on his first opponent, but Kirito hadn't seen him taking any risks trying to hit it, preferring instead to tank traditionally and wait for an opening. Even as Kirito gave him a passing glance, the man saw one. His sword lanced forward and cut into the heart of the monster, which gave a porcine squeal and shattered.

Kirito looked back at his enemy and almost paid for his momentary distraction as he barely brought his blade into position in time to deflect the arcing swing of the next Hobgoblin's massive claymore. The flaw inherent in two-handed weapons, however, was their slow recovery time, and so Kirito dispatched the monster with ease as it tried to raise the weapon again.

This was not how Kirito liked to fight. There was adrenaline, certainly, but there was no freedom. He could not move about the battlefield at will, darting between blows and catching his foes in their weakest points. Instead he had to stay stock-still and hold the line while the people behind him recovered.

But now it seemed one of them had, for from between the two fighting players a spear lanced out and caught another charging Hobgoblin in the chest.

Kirito risked a glance over the heads of the horde. The quick glance confirmed what he'd hoped—there were only a handful of monsters left; six, by his count, in two rows of three.

He slashed upward into the next as it rushed him, but it caught his blade on its own and deflected his swing around it. His eyes widened as his rising sword-arm exposed his chest to a strike.

The man with the beside him thrust his sword to the side and caught the middle Hobgoblin's swung mace on it even as the girl behind them caught it in the neck with her spear. Kirito took advantage of the moment to return his sword to an _en garde_ and lancing forward before the mob could properly ready itself. It shattered.

The final row came forward (save one, which could not replace the monster Kirito's fellow had not yet dispatched). Kirito took a deep breath and lowered his sword into a ready position. He just wanted this to be over.

He took a hit as he charged the Sword Skill, but it wasn't enough to drop his health even into the yellow, despite his minor focus on Vitality. As the Skill finished charging, Kirito's now-glowing blade came up and with a flurry of slashes he sliced cleanly through the armor of all four remaining Hobgoblins as he rushed straight through their line.

His sword's light died after a moment and he sheathed it over his shoulder before turning back to face the three other players. They looked back at him, and for a moment there was the slightly awkward silence of people who didn't know each other well but who had just succeeded at something difficult together.

Then the bearded man's face broke into a smile and he let out a whoop. "I can't believe you pulled that off!" he exclaimed. "Sorry I wasn't more help, but _damn_!"

The other man grinned at him. "Without you shoving them out of the way, we'd never have made it out of that mess earlier, Dweion," he said. "Don't try for all the credit."

"I'll settle for some," Dweion agreed amiably. "But, seriously," he cocked his head at Kirito, "how the _hell_ did you get that many of them after you?"

Kirito rubbed the back of his next sheepishly. "Ah… I usually stack mob spawns," he said. "I miscalculated, and accidentally stacked a couple extra camps…"

"And then they all came after you," the man in blue nodded sympathetically. "I had something like that happen to me in… which game was it? One of the D&D adaptations, I think. Lost everything."

Kirito nodded ruefully. "Would've had the same happen to me if you hadn't been here," he admitted. "Thanks for the help."

The man shook his head. "We should be thanking you," he said with a chuckle. "It took three of us to save you the first time, and then you got us all out of the mess. You're _really_ good at this game."

Kirito looked away, uncomfortable. In his experience, MMO gamers were jealous types. This was out of his comfort zone.

The man smiled, understanding. "My name's Diabel," he said, holding out his hand. "This is Kasui," he gestured at the blonde girl, who nodded at Kirito stoically—Kirito repeated the gesture— "and this is Dweion," here he tilted his head toward the man Kirito had already heard named who grinned jovially. Kirito smiled back.

"Kirito," he said. "Nice to meet you all. Thanks again for your help."

Dweion grinned. "Like Diabel said—we should be thanking you!"

"How about we agree that we should all thank each other," suggested Kasui with an exasperated roll of her eyes, "and cut the sap?"

Kirito cracked a smile. "Fair enough," he agreed. "Thank you. And you're welcome. He glanced behind him. The corridor was empty. "I should get going," he said. "I can probably get a bit more grinding done today if I hurry." He flicked open his inventory and was just going through the monster drops he'd acquired when Diabel spoke.

"So you're a solo player?" he asked.

Kirito nodded. "I've had… bad experiences with groups," he confessed. "And I just don't like having to share loot."

Kasui nodded understandingly. "But a team of two can get more than twice as much as a solo player," she countered evenly. "I know from experience. So even if it's hard to divvy up, the individual loot is still more."

"Kasui used to play solo," said Diabel, smiling at her. "Then Dweion and I met her in real life, and got her to play with us. She knows what she's talking about."

Kirito studied the advanced-looking armor they all wore and had to admit that there was something to all this. Diabel's and Dweion's mail was burnished steel, clearly player-crafted, which meant they must have had access to a good deal of Col to pay for it. Kasui's studded leather might be even more impressive: it had gaps cut in specific locations, not to show off her form, but to allow her a totally unimpeded range of motion without having to sacrifice the hardening of the leather. Kirito himself had always had to settle for equipment acquired from drops directly or crafted from basic materials he scrounged together in the field.

"Well, maybe you're right," said Kirito, smiling. "All the same—"

"Well, wait a minute!" said Diabel as the solo gamer made to turn away. "Do you want to join up with us? You'd make a great leader for the team!"

Dweion choked. "Leader? Diabel, _you're_ leader!"

Diabel sighed. "Look," he said. "Kirito knew _exactly_ what to do. He got himself out of the ring of monsters, organized us so _we_ could get out of the ring, and then led us to this choke point so we could take them out. All this, and he's still able to take the things out faster than any of us despite having mid-tier equipment."

Kirito blinked at him. "I just… did what came naturally," he said cautiously. "I mean… why _not_ try to get out of the mob perimeter? And my not drag them to a choke point? None of that was really impressive…"

"Thinking of them is," Diabel said firmly. "It takes a certain kind of mind to come up with ideas like that on the fly, Kirito, and it's that kind of mind that a leader of any group in this game needs. I don't have it—I can play chess decently well if it's not timed, but time it and I'm terrible. And this—" he gestured broadly around at the Dungeon— "is a lot more stressful than timed chess."

He held out his hand for Kirito to shake. "So?" he asked with a grin. "What do you say?

Kirito blinked at it. "I don't know any of you in real life!" he said, bewildered. "Or if I do I don't know about it. You all know each other! Is this a good idea?"

"We'll form a guild!" Diabel said, grinning. "That way we'll always be able to find each other online."

Kirito blinked. The idea was not without flaws—all planning with him would have to be in-game, for instance, which would take up time he would otherwise not have to waste, but… it was sound nonetheless. And, if he was honest, he _did_ find himself started to like these three—Dweion, who Kirito could already see put a jovial face on everything; Kasui, who was stoic but sharply witty when in the mood; and Diabel, who had the charisma of a leader but lacked the intellect and tactical reasoning to back it.

And they were skilled. Not true gaming prodigies (as he had to admit, if he cast off humility, he was), perhaps, but still not shabby at all. After all, they were on the front lines—only about seventy-five players were up there—the rest were still getting used to the interfaces on the first floor.

With a sudden smile, he reached out and grasped Diabel's hand.

* * *

"Kirito! Diabel!" Dweion's hearty shout disturbed Kirito's musings. He and Diabel looked over, and there they were—Dweion and Kasui, both smiling and waving.

They waved back and picked their way towards them through the crowds. There were handshakes and high-fives all around. "So," Kasui began eventually, grinning at Kirito, "What now? What's the plan?"

Kirito smiled back and opened his interface. Navigating it expertly as a veteran, he created a party and invited all three of them. The 'accepts' were not long in coming. Then he quickly selected the option to 'Create a Guild with this Party'.

Everyone accepted the pop-up, and the notification appeared a second time, just as it had in the beta: 'Congratulation! You have formed a Guild!'

There was a round of applause and whoops from the four friends. The guild was formalized again. Then the pop-up appeared on Kirito's interface. 'What would you like to name your Guild?'

He looked around at the other three. "Same name?" he asked.

"Of course!" Dweion boomed, grinning. "Why alter perfection?"

Kirito chuckled and into the box typed 'Black Knights'.

"We're going to have to get our equipment back up to spec," Kirito offered casually as another 'Congratulation!' box appeared.

"That shouldn't be too hard," Kasui replied offhandedly, stretching. "We just have to get to the Kobold Lord and get on Floor Two—that'll already set us ahead of the rest."

"Easier said than done," said Diabel, smiling at her. "The entire floor's been rearranged, other than the Starting City and the two villages. We don't even know where the Labyrinth begins, much less how to get through it."

"We found it last time, didn't we?" Dweion shrugged. "It can't be too much harder this time. Just look for the giant pillar."

"We'll see," Kirito said, unconvinced. It was true that the pillar that formed the labyrinth was visible across most of each floor, but there was usually some sort of obstacle area surrounding it. Finding the pillar was easy—finding one door somewhere on the base of that pillar was a great deal harder.

At that moment, another player walked up to them. He had violent red hair curtaining his face under a red bandana and a dusting of stubble covered his chin. "Hey, you four," he began uncertainly. "I overheard you talking and I couldn't help wondering... are you beta-testers?"

Diabel nodded at the man, smiling encouragingly. "Yes, we were in the beta. Can we help you?"

"Well, a few of my friends and I just got the game today, and none of us were beta-testers," the young man explained. "We're going to form a guild, but none of us are really experienced in VR-gaming. Er... could you maybe..."

"Give you a tutorial?" Kasui smirked. "I don't think all of us need to be there for that, but one of us can, I'm sure."

Kirito nodded. "You three go on ahead," he said. "Remember, questing is limited, but the Anneal Blade quest should still be up. Get a head start on that, if you can. See if you can't get a stockpile of some kind set up. I'll help... uh, what's your name?"

"Klein."

"Klein, here, out."

Diabel nodded. "We'll meet back here at, say, six?" he asked, looking at Kirito.

Kirito nodded. "Fine for me."

Dweion and Kasui both agreed and the other three founding members of the Black Knights jogged off. _Hopefully they'll manage to get the Anneal Blade,_ Kirito thought. _That's the best item on this floor, and I'm a one-hand sword specialist—I'll really need the damage output._

"Come on then, Klein," he said aloud, grinning at the new player. "We'll head out into the field, and I'll get you started on the basics."

* * *

"So what did you mean when you said questing was limited?" Klein asked Kirito suddenly. They were taking a small lunch on the grass of the fields outside the Starting Town as a break from their training. The digital sun shone bright and warm in the blue sky above.

Klein was now familiar with the general concept of Sword Skills, and Kirito had gotten a little grinding in on the side. SAO really was a grind-heavy game—levels were a valuable commodity, and difficult to acquire, both in combat level and in the side skills—so every bit helped.

In any other game, that might be a flaw, but in Sword Art Online, it was a genius bit of design—the whole point of VR was to make gaming feel real, and reality, when combined with the elements of a game, rarely grew dull.

"Each quest can only be completed a limited number of times—often only once—across the board by all players," Kirito explained, laying down on the grass and looking up at the sky. "The Anneal Blade is the best item offered on the First Floor by any quest that can be done by level-one players, and since I'm our guild's main DPS, I really need it."

"Wait," Klein jumped up. "All this time you've been teaching me, I've been missing out on quests? And now I can't do them?"

Kirito shook his head, not looking at the redhead, but focusing instead on the vibrant blue sky. "Quests in SAO aren't quite like in other MMOs. They take a long time, quite a bit of skill—at least if the rewards are good, and the Anneal Blade is—and if, at any point along the quest line, you die, you have to start the whole thing over again. The fact of the matter is, until you've at least gotten used to the game, you can't even consider questing."

Now he turned his head and met Klein's gaze. "So by getting you some teaching in how this game works, I'm effectively getting you a head-start on questing in the future. There was never any chance for anyone but a beta-tester to get the Anneal Blade—it's unique, and all the beta-testers were planning to rush for it the moment the game launched. It was one of the only concessions Kayaba Akihiko made to the beta players."

Klein frowned. "Concessions?"

Kirito nodded. "In the months between the closing of the beta and the launch of the game, there was a lot of debating online." As a guild leader, it was his duty to keep up with things like this—he'd been following every bit of news on the game he could find since the beta shut down, from the interesting to the menial. "The beta players, many of them, wanted an advantage over the newbies—felt it was their right. Some others, and the newbies involved in the debates, argued that that was unfair, and that in a game of SAO's scale, every player had to start on the same level so that the game would really effectively test who was the best player."

"Argus eventually decided on a compromise," Kirito finished. "There would be a few concessions to the beta-testers, such as the layout of the first floor's towns and the Anneal Blade quest, but the rest of the game would, for the most part, be altered enough that the field would be level, except that the beta-testers were already familiar with the interface."

Klein looked at him in bewilderment. "All that was going on in the past few months? Why is it such a big deal?"

Kirito looked at him with a grin. "We're currently in the first floor of the floating castle Aincrad," he began. "There are 100 floors in total. Each floor contains a single labyrinth—no one even knows where the entrance to that is—and somewhere in each labyrinth is a boss. That boss must be defeated to proceed to the next floor." He sat up and looked out over the green fields. Of in the distance, a party of newbies in starting armor was struggling to bring down a boar.

His tone became tinged with admiration as he continued. "Kayaba Akihiko began the first stages of this project on his own when he was twelve years old- it's taken him the better part of twenty years to finish it. In those two decades, he's created a world that's as close to real as he could imagine. You could spend years in this game and not even begin to advance without ever doing the same thing twice. The most optimistic estimates of how long this game would take to complete after the closed beta were about four years."

Kirito looked back at Klein, a smile on his face. "This game is not just a video game. It's the greatest competition in the past century—it might be the greatest competition in human history. Ten thousand players—perhaps with more to come—are competing to see who will strike the last blow against the boss on the 100th floor in the end. Politicians are having week-long debates about what this is going to do to society. Psychologists are scrambling to publish studies on the players. This game, Klein, is literally the defining event of our generation. That's why it's a big deal."

Kirito, laughing at Klein's open-mouthed shock, had no idea how very right he was.

* * *

"Well, I need to go have dinner," said Klein regretfully a little after 17:00, Japanese time. "And you should probably get to your friends. Thank you for all your help! It was fun!"

Kirito nodded, grinning at him. "No problem. Let us know if you and your friends need any more help later on; we'll be the Black Knights Guild, on the front lines!"

Klein grinned, then stopped, looking confused. "Eh... how do I log out?"

Kirito laughed. "It's in the menu, down at the bottom."

"Oh, of course!" Klein opened the interface, scrolled down, opened the Exit Menu... and stopped. "It's not here."

"What?" Kirito opened his own menu, scrolled down, and confirmed Klein's finding. "It must be a bug," he mused uncertainly. "We should contact a Game Master." He navigated to that part of the interface and clicked to call a GM, but no voice answered, no matter how much he clicked. "This is odd," he said aloud, more to himself than to Klein.

"It's really bad, is what it is!" Klein exclaimed. "I had a pizza coming! A good one! How long will it take them to fix it?"

Kirito thought for a moment. "The Game Masters' servers have never gone down before. They're probably fixing that, and may have not even noticed that the logout button is missing. If that's the case, then it might take them hours more."

Klein cried out in despair and fell to his knees. "My pizza!"

As Kirito watched him fall, however, he noticed the runic circle he was falling on—a teleport. He looked down at his own feet; sure enough, a teleport was activating around him too. "This is new," he mused in surprise as the circles began to glow brighter. At the same time, he noticed the great bells of the Starting Town tolling ominously.

"What the..." Klein's shout was cut off as the power finished and they both found themselves in the central square of the Starting Town again. The reddening light of the sunset made the cobbled square seem eerie in the long shadows of the buildings, and the water in the fountain was tinged until, if one squinted, it almost looked like blood.

All around them, more blue lights were flaring, and the bells above kept tolling and tolling. Kirito caught sight of Diabel across the square and made eye contact with him before he was obscured by more appearing players.

After a moment, the teleports ceased, taking the bells with them. All around was the chatter of excited and worried people.

"An announcement, maybe?" Klein asked. "Explaining what's going on?"

Kirito nodded but said nothing.

After a few moments, during which the throng rumbled in fearful confusion, an alarm flared, and in the sky a red hexagon appeared. Kirito strained his eyes and made out the word 'WARNING'. Soon more hexagons like it appeared, interlocking with 'WARNING' and 'System Announcement'. They spread like a fungus—a crimson cancer covering the sky. Eventually a dome had formed over the assembled players, encasing them in the Starting Town—and as those in the outskirts of the crowd found, they could not even pass out of the central square.

Suddenly from the apex of the dome issued a red fluid, oozing and glutinous, and reminding Kirito terribly of blood—as though the game itself were bleeding out. This ooze dripped downward but stopped above the square and met with other streams of itself in a macabre refusal of physics. They formed an orb of red in the air, expanding constantly as more of the strange ichor flowed into it. Then it began to shift and morph, growing elliptical as it lost width and gained height, changing until it gained a recognizable shape.

 _A Game Master?_ Kirito thought, bewildered. _A faceless Game Master? Is this how in-game announcements are supposed to go? They weren't like this in the beta!_

"Hello." The booming voice from above and all around, seeming to emanate from the air itself, interrupted Kirito's wonderings and silenced the masses. "Welcome to Aincrad and to Sword Art Online. I am Kayaba Akihiko."

 _Kayaba Akihiko...? Why is he hiding his face?_ Kirito's mind raced. _What's going on?_

"I'm sure you all have many questions," said the founder of Argus. "I will not be taking them, but I will answer the obvious ones now. First, as I'm sure most of you have noticed by now, the ability to log out is no longer in the game menu. This is not a bug or glitch."

A young man gave a sharp breath in realization somewhere to Kirito's left. Kirito turned his head to see who it was, but couldn't tell among the crowds. _What did they realize?_ he wondered.

"I repeat, this is not a bug." Kayaba's voice resonated onward through the air. "This is a feature of the NerveGear and of SAO. From this moment onward, logging out of SAO is impossible."

"So we have to wait for someone else to pull us out of FullDive?" someone asked.

"I live alone!" Klein shouted in alarm. "My pizza..."

"No," the unidentified young man—almost a boy, by his voice—to Kirito's left said, and though he spoke quietly, his voice had a cutting quality to it which sheared through the rising babble like butter, but he did not continue.

"In addition, attempting to remove the NerveGear from without will result in an electronic impulse being sent through the brain of the player," Kayaba continued. "This will result in instant brain death."

The silence was frozen in terror. "People have already been notified on the outside world of this danger." The voice carried no emotion. "Unfortunately, many have failed to heed, and as a result, 213 players are already dead."

"But that's not the real risk, is it?" said the mysterious voice to the left quietly. Kirito looked over again but could not find the speaker, despite not being the only head in the area turning this way and that.

"In addition, this microwave impulse will be sent through the NerveGear if one alternate criteria is met." Kirito's eyes widened—another way for people to be killed in this parody of a game? This was descending past horror. "Respawns have been disabled in SAO. If, anywhere in Aincrad, a player is killed, that player's real-world body will also die."

 _The ultimate hardcore gaming experience..._ Kirito remembered Argus' advertising slogan for SAO's full release. It was turning out truer than they could have imagined in their worst nightmares.

"There is now only one way to log out of SAO, short of death." Even the voice in the crowd was silent now. "In the moment when the final boss on the 100th floor is cleared, all players still living will be immediately logged out of the game.

"As of this moment, I am the only living thing with control over this world." Kayaba's voice was softer now, almost languid. "I control this world of Aincrad and everything in it. You 10,000 players—or now rather 9,787—must now prepare yourselves. In order to leave this game, you must clear all 100 floors and someone must strike down the final boss on the last. That is your goal, and the reward is freedom.

"I have one gift for each of you—it will now have appeared in your inventory." All around people suddenly moved and looked mechanically through their interface, into their inventory, and found there an item.

 _A Mirror?_ Kirito thought in numb confusion. _What could that be for?_

He took it out and examined his reflection in it. It faithfully reflected his in-game avatar. Then suddenly it flared and he felt the unique sensation of having his very body restructure itself around his spirit. Fortunately, his shape didn't have much to do—he'd deliberately kept a similar body type to his annoyingly effeminate one to avoid confusion. But his face altered itself. In later years, he would describe the feeling as "Like my flesh was rippling on by bones the way water does after a rock's dropped in it—except the bones were rippling too, and it was all so _fast_."

He fell to his knees, but soon stood up. Looking around, he noticed that all around him, people had changed—no one looked quite as he or she had before—indeed, some had changed from 'he' to 'she', and vice-versa. And there beside him was a taller man with a red bandana and natural reddish-brown hair, staring at him in surprise.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

Kirito looked into the mirror still clenched in his fist and saw his face—his real face. He looked up. "Klein?"

Klein blinked. "...Kirito? What...?"

There was a sound like the world choking, and everyone fell silent. Kayaba had cleared his throat.

"As of this moment," he declared, "I, Kayaba Akihiko, declare Sword Art Online to be fully launched." And without further ado, the scarlet robe melted back into the sky. The dome retreated and the barrier on the square was lifted.

An uproar broke out. Kirito grasped Klein's arm immediately—a good thing, since the crush would have separated them otherwise—and dragged him towards where he'd seen Diabel earlier.

Soon he caught sight of the man's signature blue hair—fortunately it was still blue—and managed to pick his way through the crowd to him.

"Diabel!" he shouted near the man's ear. Diabel turned to look at him, and the blank lack of recognition in his unfamiliar face hurt Kirito somewhere inside. "It's me, Kirito!"

Diabel's eyes widened. "Kirito!" He looked around. "Dweion, Kasui, follow me! Let's get out of this crowd!"

Kirito beckoned to Klein and they followed Diabel out of the crowd. When they reached the outskirts of the square the crowd did not thin: rather it gained a moving quality which negated its static crush as the people flowed, panicked, out of the square.

There the five of them stood together and look at one another. "I guess introductions are in order..." Diabel said, with a kind of forced cheer. "...again. Kirito, this is Dweion." The man hadn't changed overmuch—he was still bulky and had the same build, with the same bushy beard, the same red hair and the same laugh lines around his eyes. The difference was in scale—where before Dweion could be described as stout, at a height of perhaps five foot eight, now he towered over the rest, easily breaching six feet and more. His build was the same, but its magnitude was very different in real life.

In addition, Kirito could now see all the little flaws in his features—the slight dusting of tiny craters from old acne scarring, the other wrinkles—not laugh lines—which sagged slightly below his eyes, telling of many late nights and hard days.

But Dweion's smile was as infectious as ever, despite the overlay of stress that circumstances had now placed on it. Kirito could not help but grin back.

"And this is Kasui," Diabel inclined his head towards his female companion. She had changed somewhat more than Dweion. Her hair was still blond and sunny, her form still lithe and slim, but as Kirito might have expected her bust had diminished slightly and her flawless featured were now slightly spotted—a light dusting of freckles covered her nose and cheeks, her former high cheekbones were lowered, her eyes a slightly less vibrant shade of blue. Most importantly, she was shorter—before, she had been taller than Kirito by about half a foot, but now she was shorter than him by a couple of inches.

She did not smile as she nodded at him, but that was a relief—she had not changed, at her core. She never did smile in stressful situations, always reserving outward happiness for peaceful moments. He nodded back, but he did smile—leftover from Dweion.

"And, well, I'm Diabel." Kirito's friend grinned at him sheepishly. He had changed in terms of facial construction—where once had been a finely chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, and a brow that Kirito had often felt could have easily broken stone, there was now a much more ordinary kind of masculinity: a beautifully ordinary face looked out at Kirito. But three things that remained constant were Diabel's height—like Kirito he had kept about his ordinary, real height to avoid confusion, or perhaps he was simply pleased with it—the ocean-blue hair, stranger now than ever, and the bright blue eyes that looked out on the world.

Kirito grinned back at his friend. "Well, I'm Kirito," he said. "This," he nodded at his companion, "is Klein."

"And this is bad," Kasui interjected tersely. "You do all realize exactly what just happened, right?"

"Of course, Kasui," Dweion said, the smile dropping from his face. "But what can we do now? We can't exactly head out into the wild and start clearing the game just like that! We need supplies, and sleep!"

"And a plan," Kirito added. "That's most important. We need to think about this before we do anything."

Diabel looked at the thinning crowds flowing around them. "Will they?" he asked, seemingly to himself. "Will they think first? How many of us will die in this first night because we didn't think?"

Kirito's heart froze.

"I need to find my friends!" Klein's outburst shook them out of their reverie. "We were going to form a guild! I need to get to them before anything happens!"

Diabel gave him a smile—sincere, despite the thinly-veiled, barely-controlled worry they could all see under it. "Go, then, Klein. I hope we meet again soon."

Klein nodded at him, gave Kirito a quick, harried grin and rushed off, shouting names they didn't recognize.

"And now," Diabel said, turning to Kirito, "What say we find a place to rest up for the night, and worry about tomorrow when it comes?"

Kirito nodded. "Best idea I've heard all day."

* * *

 **A/N: And there you are. You may have noticed I've already started to expound on the existing lore. That's going to continue. I'm trying to realize this world as much as possible, among my other goals. Should be fun.**

 **I can't promise regular updates, but I can promise a completed product at the end of this. I'm not giving up—that's the long and the short of it.**

 **Note, however: I started this chapter in… late 2014, I think. Finished it in the middle of 2015. Started Chapter 2 almost immediately… didn't finish it until February. On the other hand, I have a complete outline of the story, and know where all the pieces go. So if I ever** _ **do**_ **get motivated to write this, it should be quick going.**

 **One last point. As with all my recent stories, I want to discuss reviews. Lots of authors beg for them on their knees. I don't care enough. Got much more important things in my life than the review count of a story on the internet. Leave 'em if you've got something to say, good or bad. I'll listen to criticism, respond to questions, et cetera. But… I just don't care all that much. So reviews are appreciated but unnecessary.**

 **With that said, I'll see you next time.**


	2. Chapter 2: Guild Politics

**A/N: My author's notes always get shorter after the first chapter. Only important point is that I'm experimenting with always posting one chapter behind what I've written with this fic. So as of today, chapter 3 is written, and will be posted when chapter 4 is done. It improves my overall speed.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Guild Politics

" _The politics of the university are so intense because the stakes are so low."  
-Wallace Stanley Sayre_

* * *

Kirito was already examining the ceiling by the time he realized his eyes were open. He blinked them. _Where am I?_ he wondered, the vagueness of half-sleep still clouding his mind. The ceiling above him was clearly not his own—it was instead a rather old-fashioned wooden one, and looked rather cheap—he could see faint light through the thin slits between the boards.

The bed didn't feel like his own simple (and rather hard) one, either—it was larger, and softer, and made him want to curl up and sleep again for days more.

He yawned at sat up, scratching his chest. Instead of the blinds of his room, the rising sun was slightly dimmed by pale curtains, and not very effective ones.

The sound of birds jolted him back to reality—or rather, into unreality. Memory flooded back.

For a moment he allowed his shoulders to sag and his head to bow. _Mother... Sugu..._ Would he ever see them again? Would he ever see the real sun rise over a real horizon, and hear the real birds calling out the dawn again?

He shook himself than and swung his legs over the side of the bed, casting off the covers. He had no other clothes yet in this game, so he'd slept naked for the night—he really needed to get some proper clothes today. The day before had been a bit too stressful to think of something so simple.

It hit him again—he was _stuck here_. He had to think of such things as clothing and feeding himself, and where to sleep, and above all that he had to make sure he was alive to eat his next meal and sleep his next night and there was no way out no way out _no way out..._

He clenched his fists and shook his head violently to clear his mind. He stood, stretched, and navigated his inventory to equip his armor.

Once it was on he took a moment to pull aside the curtains. The sun shone brightly on the bright cobblestones outside, glinting off of the oaken walls and glass windows of the buildings on the other side of the street.

It almost looked real, but for the floating HUD on the sides of his vision, unobtrusive as it was, and the telltale warping of his FOV around the sides.

He shook his head and turned away. His leather boots tapped on the floor rhythmically as he crossed the room and turned the door's brass handle.

The door opened outward, or tried to—Diabel caught it with a soft exclamation just before it hit him in the face.

Kirito grinned as he stepped out into the hall. "Sorry," he chuckled.

Diabel smiled ruefully. "I'm used to being the first to wake up," he said. "I guess I'm not the only early riser here."

Kirito shook his head with a laugh. "Nope; now you've got to share the pleasure of waking everybody else up." Diabel's hand had been raised to knock on Kirito's door, and it still was now, having been forgotten as Diabel moved to catch the door with his other hand.

Diabel laughed. "I call Kasui—Dweion is not a happy person in the morning."

Kirito hit him playfully on the shoulder. "You're a horrible person, you know."

Diabel grinned with a shrug and turned to continue down the hall towards Kasui's room. Kirito turned the other way and made for Dweion's.

* * *

Within twenty minutes the four members of the Black Nights were gathered in the Inn's dining hall for breakfast. The spacious room was loud, filled with the happy chatter of NPCs—and, occasionally, the barely-heard sound of a player's suppressed weeping—but around this small table a silence hung; not a really oppressive or discouraged silence, but one of anxious thought in companionship.

"We need to decide on our next course of action quickly," Kirito said after a while. "There are a few basic ideas I can come up with, and any other ideas are welcome, but..."

"...But we need to be out that door with a plan within half an hour," Diabel finished for him. "Agreed. What are your ideas, Guildmaster?"

Kirito snorted. "Don't call me that." Then he frowned thoughtfully. "Given the influx of new players—some of whom are really new, even to gaming itself—beta testers are going to be a very valuable commodity; and a volatile one. We need to manage our image carefully if we're to avoid being seen as a threat by the 9,000 non-testers."

He steepled his fingers as he continued. "Given the sudden influx of fresh blood, I predicted—and emailed all of you about it—that most of the other guilds would try to do a lot of recruitment early on. I don't think that will change. Some will want cannon fodder, and others will want an opportunity to train and protect the weak. Either way, recruitment is going to be a big deal for several of the larger guilds.

"We should expect the Blood Oath to rise fairly quickly again. Heathcliff was on par with us in the beta, and his charisma is legendary. Newbies will be sucked in easily. He probably won't focus on clearing for a couple months until he's built up a power base."

"The Divine Dragon Alliance is another guild I'd watch out for," Dweion said. "I know a girl who was recruited into it between the beta and launch day—she wasn't even a tester."

"A couple of the guilds were doing that," nodded Kirito. "Alliance saw the most success, but there were a few other guilds that looked into pre-launch noob recruitment. Most of the others weren't planning on being clearers, though."

"And even more of them will think twice before going out now," agreed Kasui grimly.

There was a moment of subdued quiet before Diabel looked up. "We should get in touch with the Rat," he suggested.

Kirito blinked. "Argo? Why?" Argo the Rat was an unusual figure in Sword Art Online's beta. A mysterious young girl of perhaps fifteen, she had never focused on combat—had rarely even been seen in combat by anyone inclined to tell—and had spent her time buying and selling information to and from players who needed it. She knew every detail of every floor and dungeon except the ones the clearing groups were currently exploring, and sometimes seemed to know more about those than the clearers themselves. "We don't have any questions for her."

"She needs a network, and so do we," Diabel explained. "We don't know what we need to know yet, but if anyone does..."

"It's Argo the Rat," Dweion nodded. "It's not a bad idea, I think. What do you say, Guildmaster?"

"Don't call me that," Kirito repeated blandly as he frowned in thought. _Decisions, decisions..._

"Argo is definitely a resource we want to keep on our side, and getting in touch with her early is a good idea," he said after a moment. "The problem is that I don't know what else needs to be done right away. How far did you three get on the Anneal Blade quest?"

"We manage to get it, just ahead of another guy," said Diabel, grinning. "Here!"

One trade later, and Kirito was equipping the most powerful sword in the hands of any player at that time. "Thanks, you three, I owe you one." He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking, before looking back up. "I'm closest to Argo, so I should probably go see her. Are the three of you fully outfitted?"

"Enough to grind as well as we can," Dweion said. "Armor's enough for mobs level 1-5, which is all we'll get around here, and weapons are as good as we can get without grinding or questing some more. Durability's near full."

"Good," Kirito stood up. "I'm going to get in touch with Argo and get myself outfitted. Diabel, you're in charge. Get out there and grind. I'll be in touch once I'm done with this."

The other three nodded and stood. They looked at each other, grinned, and then threw Kirito a crisp salute in unison. "As you command, Guildmaster!" they laughed.

Kirito rolled his eyes.

* * *

Argo was not as hard to find as Kirito might have expected. She had left signs—messages that only beta-testers could find—and they had led him right to her. Clearly she wanted to build her network as quickly as possible.

What was a surprise was the location. Originally, Argo had been posting on the Internet that she would be restarting her information brokering business four days after launch, and that she would be waiting in a certain alley in the Starting Town. Kirito checked this alley and found only one of her signs, leading him to the new meeting place.

Argo was kneeling before a great stone obelisk that had appeared in the center of the Room of Resurrection— _Bit of a misnomer, now,_ Kirito thought wryly—where players had respawned in the beta. She twitched when he approached, but did not respond in any meaningful way as Kirito knelt down beside her. He looked sidelong at her from his position at her level.

She had repainted the whiskers that had been a trademark of her identity in the beta, he saw, but other than that she looked very different from the scrawny, pockmarked girl Kirito had known before. The real face of Argo the Rat was actually quite a pleasant one—not gorgeous like that of an attractive woman, but smooth and slightly rosy-cheeked, like a child who would grow into real beauty.

Her eyes, though physically unchanged, were the most startlingly different part of her. Where before there had always been a light of wit and wry cheer, a sort of teasing joy, infusing the violet orbs, now they were dark and sad as they studied the obelisk.

Kirito turned to it. It seemed to be covered, top to bottom, with names. Romanized names in English lettering, spelling out syllables that often sounded like Japanese. Some of the names were crossed out. Indeed, as he watched, one name—Masuma-was suddenly slashed through as if with an invisible knife.

There was a sharp intake of breath from beside him as Argo saw it. He turned to her again to see that her eyes were clenched shut as if holding back tears. After a moment, they opened again, still dark and subdued as ever, and she turned to face him. "Have you figured out what it is, Ki-bou?"

Kirito blinked, looked back at the monument, and figured it out.

He didn't gasp, but rather inhaled deeply and slowly as the horrible realization filled him with all the inexorable slowness of a river breaking its dam.

There was moment of silence, and then Kirito raised his left arm and put it around Argo's shoulders. She gave a quick inhalation—almost a squeak, ironically enough—before turning fully and throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

She didn't cry, though her breathing was a little ragged. Kirito brought his other arm around and embraced her fully, his cheek resting on her brown hair—uncovered, as yet, by the cloak that he knew she would purchase from the vendor who sold it on the second floor. His dark eyes studied the names—the ten thousand names—that adorned the obelisk. They covered all four sides—he'd seen that when he came in—so he could only see 2,500 of them.

If the other sides had as many names crossed out as this one did, Kirito knew at a glance that hundreds were slashed.

"Ki-bou" Argo murmured softly, "What are we going to do?"

Kirito tightened his grip around the little girl and pressed his lips to the top of her head before he answered. "We're going to fight," he said softly. "We have no other choice."

"I can't," Argo whispered. "I'm scared. Fear is death—the mind-killer…"

"You fight in your own way," Kirito told her. "Your information network will give the clearers an edge they'll desperately need."

"I don't want you to die," Argo said, her voice cracking slightly. "You're the closest damn thing I have to a friend, Ki-bou, and you're going to put yourself right into the line of fire. I know you are."

Kirito didn't deny it. "Someone has to. The alternative isn't worth considering."

"Isn't it?" Argo muttered, her voice rough but stronger. "Isn't life here better than no life at all? Is this worse because it's not real?"

Kirito watched as another name was slashed through on the monument. "It's worse," he said, "Because it's too small."

"Caged bird, caged bird," Argo intoned in a whisper. "Why do you sing?"

Kirito didn't answer.

* * *

"Thank you, Ki-bou," Argo said. Kirito had eventually pulled her, gently, out of the Room of Resurrection. Once they were out he'd led her to a nearby restaurant—it was getting on toward lunchtime, and he had a feeling she hadn't eaten breakfast. Or dinner, for that matter.

"What for?" he asked in surprise.

She rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot; don't worry about it. You have my gratitude, and you don't need to worry your pretty little head about what for."

Kirito blinked at her. "If this is about the room..."

"Of course it's about the room, you dolt."

"...I just did what any decent human being would do."

"Maybe" Argo said, watching him. "But I think you're naive enough to be surprised by just what a rarity decent human beings are."

"Maybe by your definition," Kirito argued.

She snorted. "I'm using yours, Ki-bou. My standards are much lower." She took a bite of her sandwich. "And thanks for the meal. I was hungry."

"You're welcome," Kirito nodded. "It's good to see you again."

"Better now that I'm not bawling my eyes out, I'm sure," Argo said wryly.

"You weren't even crying," Kirito told her with a small smile. "Don't worry. Argo the Rat's image is preserved."

She chuckled darkly. "I have a feeling that'll be very important in the coming months." She cocked her head at him curiously. "All right, I've got food in my belly and a load off my chest, all thanks to you. Now we can get to what you need from me. Why'd you seek me out today?"

Kirito nodded, his hands steepling as they tended to when he had to deal with Guild Business. "The Black Knights have reformed," he told her. "Mostly we wanted to make contact with you early and see if there was any information you had that we might use early."

Argo shook her head. "Anything I have now, you know better than I do," she said wryly. "The broader kinds of information I trade in are exactly the kind of thing Argus changed before launch. I've got nothing for you yet... except an opportunity to earn some Col for you and your guild." She leaned in slightly. "I had an idea while we were coming here," she said. "What if we got a lot of the beta testers together and had them write a book? A player's handbook?"

Kirito's eyes widened. "To help the new players, since there's not enough time to go to all of them personally?"

"Not to mention it's impossible," nodded Argo. "People are already too scattered. We'd never find them all."

"That's a great idea!" Kirito said, a grin breaking across his face. "I'm sure the others would be glad to help! Tell us what you need written."

"You're one of the best at recognizing mob tactics based on their weapons," Argo said. "Do you think you could draft up a database of the early-floor weapon types and their attack patterns? Just basics will do; we don't need every detail."

Kirito nodded. "I can do that. Should the others get anything written?"

"Diabel's great with party composition," Argo said thoughtfully. "Think he could get a chapter on balancing a party written?"

Kirito nodded. "I'm sure. I'll pass on the idea to him. Any other ideas?"

Argo shook her head. "You can all brainstorm too," she suggested. "Let me know if you come up with ideas. I'll be editor and publisher, and I might run a chapter on the Col economy."

Kirito nodded and stood. "I'll run this by the others," he said, then looked down at the young girl. She was slightly hunched inward, still clearly reeling with shock at all that was happening around her, but...

"You're strong," Kirito murmured.

Argo looked up at him, confused. "What did you say, Ki-bou?"

Kirito shook his head, flushing slightly. "N-nothing; sorry. Will you be okay?"

The Rat shot him a wry smirk. "I'll be fine, Kiri-bou," she told him. "Don't worry about me. I'm not the one who's going to run out into the thick of the combat."

Kirito grinned. "I'd die, stuck in these walls."

Argo's grin faded. "You might die out there too," she said quietly. "Please, Ki-bou..."

"I have to," he told her. "Who else will?"

She shook her head, looking down. "I know. I won't ask you not to do what you're best at. But..." She looked up at him, a barest hint of moisture in her eyes. "Please... be careful."

Kirito put one hand on the top of her head and sent her a friend request with the other. "I will," he told her.

Argo smiled and accepted.

* * *

Days passed. The Black Knights trained and built their skills. Kirito soon caught up with the slight advantage his guildmates had built during the first two days, and they were back to being four of the most powerful players in Aincrad.

Argo the Rat published the Player's Handbook within days of the game's launch. Kirito read through it, but there was little he didn't know in its pages. Heathcliff wrote a section on guilds that interested him, mostly due to his potential rivalry with the author, but the chapter barely touched on inter-guild politics and was therefore largely useless to Kirito.

In addition, there was a chapter on the so-called Morality filter which taught Kirito about a set of game mechanics he'd had no idea existed. He didn't see himself likely to have sex while in the game, however, so he filed the information away and forgot about it.

Heathcliff, as Kirito had predicted, began rebuilding and enlarging the Blood Oath. In addition, a new entity—the Aincrad Liberation Force—formed under a man named Thinker. Kirito consulted with Argo regarding the potential rivals.

* * *

"I spoke to Thinker," Argo told him as they sat in a NPC-owned cafe. "He's a decent person, but he's not clearer material."

"Then why's he started up the Army?" Kirito asked blankly, using the ALF's unofficial moniker.

"They're not a clearing group," Argo explained, chuckling slightly. "You could have just talked to him, you know; this part's public knowledge. The ALF is going to stay on the lower floors and keep the peace here to minimize non-combatant and non-clearer casualties. And," Argo narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm still charging you for this."

Kirito snorted. "Right." She really was charging him, but her rates tended to be a bit discounted when he was asking anyway. Besides, it wasn't as though he minded giving Argo either Col or information, most of the time. "So won't he be pulling potential clearers away from the front lines?"

Argo shook her head. "He's encouraging anyone who seems like clearer material to explore the labyrinths. His people are the next tier—people who, in other MMOs, might get to the level cap fairly quickly but don't take as much part in the loot-hunting that comes after."

Kirito nodded. "That makes sense."

"Good," Argo grinned, "'cause it's costing you 300 Col."

* * *

Time went on. Players lived, died, and began to build lives within the confines of the First Floor. Piece by piece, things began coming together.

And then, three weeks after landing in Aincrad…

"Shit," Dweionnn swore, diving out of the ornate doorway just as it tried to snap shut behind him. He breathed heavily as he leaned back against it, blinking rapidly. "That was close," he told Kirito, slightly shell-shocked.

"What happened?" Diabel asked, making his way back to then in a couple quick strides. "Are you all right, Dweion?"

Kirito looked from one to another of his guildmates. Kasui was watching him, clearly just as aware as he was of what had just happened and waiting for his word on the matter.

"Boss room," he said quietly. Diabel spun to face him, then looked between him and Dweion frantically.

"You're sure?" he asked quickly.

"That was Illfang," Dweion mumbled, sinking to the ground. "Christ, I was almost trapped behind that door…"

Kasui handed him a waterskin. "You weren't," she said quietly. "But be more careful, _please_."

He nodded and drank deeply.

Diabel was watching Kirito. "What do we do, Guildmaster?" he asked quietly.

Kirito was staring at the boss door, contemplating. _We can probably take Illfang,_ he thought to himself, _but it's risky. Dweion was almost just caught out by the_ door _, for God's sake; that's enough stress for one day._ He remembered something he'd once heard said about an early 2010's game: _I don't lose people._

"We're done for today," he said at length. "The door's on our maps now—it's not going anywhere. We'll head down and get in touch with Argo, get a clearer group together." He cracked his knuckles idly. "We'll avoid inviting the other major guilds," he added as an afterthought. "It'll be a good opportunity to recruit, if we see anyone talented."

"We should drop Klein a message, though," Diabel suggested. "He didn't seem like a recruiter, but he did seem like he might be clearer material. We should give him a taste of that."

Kirito nodded. "Fine," he said. "Sounds good. Let's head back. I'll drop them both a message when we're back to town." Teleportation crystals, a staple on higher floors, were still rare on the First Floor, and Kirito and the others were often forced to walk.

They began to march, making their way through monsters and traps back out of the labyrinth.

"Oh, and Diabel?" Kirito added as they moved.

Diabel cocked his head at him.

"Don't call me that."

* * *

"Kirito!" the redheaded Klein looked happier than the black-clad guildmaster remembered. That wasn't much of a surprise, of course, given that the last time Kirito had seen him had been when they had found out their lives were effectively over. "How have you been?"

"Fine," Kirito said, grasping Klein's proffered hand. "This is your guild?" he nodded at the five men following behind the redhead.

"Yeah," Klein said, grinning back at them. "These are Dale," a large man in red armor with a broadsword of some kind gave Kirito a jovial grin, "Dynamm," a wiry, scruffy-looking fellow with a scimitar and shield smirked at him, "Harry One," a serious-looking, heavily armored man with a claymore strapped to his back gave a stately nod, "Issin," a lightly-armored, thin man with a long polearm gave a jaunty wave, "and Kunimittz," a lightly-armored, muscular man with a dagger and a shield gave him a firm nod. Klein rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "We've got four more members," he confessed, "but they're underleveled, and I told them to stay back and grind."

Kirito nodded. "That was wise," he confirmed. "You never want to go into a boss room unprepared, even if you have teleport crystals, and very few of us do yet." He turned toward the amphitheater where the potential clearers were gathering. "Come on," he said. "Go sit somewhere—Diabel's going to be addressing the troops soon."

Klein led his guild past the black-haired man, but not before blinking at him. "Why aren't you?" he asked. "I thought you were Guildmaster?"

"First of all," Kirito said blandly, "don't call me that. Secondly, I have the charisma of a relatively ugly toad. Diabel's better as the voice of the Black Knights. I'll be sitting in the back, watching the proceedings and looking for any loners and stragglers."

Kleinn cocked his head at him. "Why?"

Kirito shrugged. "Because everyone needs to be in a group for a boss," he said. "If anyone can't find one, I'll make it for them."

Klein shrugged. "Fair enough," he said. "Come on, guys, let's grab good seats!"

Kirito separated from them and made his way to the back of the amphitheater. He didn't sit as yet, opting instead to watch the roads approaching the area to see if anyone else was coming.

A few more people seemed to be, so Kirito shot Diabel a quick message to wait. He leaned back against a pillar in the back and observed the crowd.

Kirito had half expected Heathcliff and the Blood Oath to make a showing, but they were nowhere to be seen. Argo had expected as much.

"Heathcliff's still heavily recruiting among the newbies," she had told him. "My sources—such as they are—tell me he hasn't even started training them in earnest yet. They look up to him, personally, and not the Blood Oath organization at this point, so he won't be making a showing with an elite, beta-tester squad. He can't leave the new members alone for that long."

She had been right it seemed. Kirito felt silly for being pleased—Heathcliff would have been a valuable asset to the clearing effort—but without him and the Blood Oath's overbearing presence, the Black Knights had an opportunity to make a proper name for themselves. It seemed petty to be so concerned with guild politics when people's lives were on the line, but Kirito couldn't help but worry.

MMOs were notorious for spurring competition, even to the point of player-on-player combat and murder. Would the fact that such murder was now real deter people? Kirito had a bad feeling that it wouldn't, and the guilds were the only bastion of civilization these players had.

The Blood Oath was certainly better than nothing. But they were regimented, impersonal, and altogether slightly too reminiscent of the Japan of the 1930's for Kirito's liking. It wasn't that Heathcliff was a monster, but he tended to see battles—and, as such, people—as a chessboard and pieces. This was quite acceptable and even useful in an MMO Guildmaster, but in a man responsible for keeping real people, not even soldiers, alive?

Kirito didn't think he was a perfect Guildmaster, didn't even think he was necessarily as good as Heathcliff, but he was certain that Heathcliff needed rivals to remind him that not everyone saw things his way.

No one else was coming. Kirito sat down, and shot Diabel a message to start.

"Right, well, it looks like everyone's here," Diabel said, standing from where he had been kneeling on the end of the raised stage, talking cheerfully to the front-row members of the audience. "So let's start the meeting!

"It's been one month since we were trapped here in Castle Aincrad," he continued, his face falling. "Since that time, as many of you already know, two of the original ten thousand players have already died."

There was a ripple of gasps and murmurs. Diabel allowed it to carry for a moment before raising his hand for silence. "That death rate," he said reassuringly, "Is unlikely to be representative of the average throughout our time. But it is a frightening figure. Remember it, because it's important.

"As you all probably know, Castle Aincrad is one-hundred floors tall. We are on floor one. On each floor, there is a hidden labyrinth which climbs upward toward the next floor, culminating in a single Boss Room, hidden somewhere within. The first floor labyrinth was found immediately—in fact, its location was known from the beta—but its Boss Room was not located… until yesterday."

Diabel smiled. "Yesterday, I and my party located the Boss Room of the first floor," he announced. We were able to observe the boss before withdrawing. To those of you who took part in or read the materials about the beta, the boss remains identical—Illfang, the Kobold Lord. We know his attack patterns and skills, but the four of us were not enough to assault him alone.

"That's why we put out our notice through the newsfeed," Diabel continued. "The announcement was, 'skilled fighters needed' and that's exactly what we need. Tomorrow, the Black Knights—our guild—intends to lead a clearing party through the labyrinth and to the Boss Room, and take out Illfang, opening the second floor for exploration. We need to show the players—now, before any more lives are lost—that we can and will beat this game and escape this world."

After a beat of silence there was a round of applause. Kirito joined in readily.

"So," Diabel continued, smiling slightly with a glance up at Kirito, "without further ado, let's get to the planning. Everyone, please form parties of at least four, and preferably a full six."

There was a rumble of conversation as people began to group up with their friends and allies, or even just people they'd been sitting with. Diabel talked over it easily. "A lone party has no real chance of taking on a boss alone, even on the first floor. We'll need to form a raid group of several parties working in unison."

And this was where Kirito's job came in. He looked around below him. Everyone seemed to be forming groups…

Then he looked to his left. A lone figure in a dark red, hooded cloak was seated on the same row as he was. They were completely alone.

He scooted over to them. "Hey," he said. "You get left out?"

They shook their head. "Everyone seemed to know each other already," they said in a high, feminine voice—a girl? "I decided to stay out of it."

Kirito shook his head with a smile. "Bad idea," he said. "Bosses are dangerous. A group can keep you alive. Want to join mine?"

She looked over at him. "You were in the beta?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah," he said. "With him." He nodded his head in Diabel's direction. "We're in the same guild, but we have room in our party."

She hesitated. "Surely I'll just slow you down…"

Kirito shook his head. "Not likely," he said. "Not as long as you work with us a bit tonight so we can get a feel for your skillset. We're pretty good at using everyone effectively without holding anyone back."

A pause, and then she gave a small nod. His smile widened and he sent her an invite.

The name and healthbar appeared in the corner of his vision. _Asuna_ , he thought. It was a girl's name, and a pretty one, not that that was any guarantee online. Still, he was fairly confident now.

"Well," Diabel called the group back to order, looking up at Kirito. Kirito gave him a nod as he continued. "It seems like everyone's found a group, so let's get back to—"

"Hold on a minute!" came a call from above. Kirito glanced up.

The speaker was scruffy-looking, redheaded young man in relatively high-quality scale mail for this early stage in the game. He jumped down toward the stage, taking three of the large step-seats at a time, before coming to a halt beside Diabel.

"My name's Kibaō," he introduced gruffly, "and I want to say something before we take on the boss."

Diabel looked at him long-sufferingly for a moment before nodding.

Kibaō pointed out at the audience. "Some of you," he accused, "owe an apology to the two-thousand people who have died so far!"

Kirito's fists clenched involuntarily. He knew where this was going.

"Are you referring," Diabel asked lowly, "to the beta-testers?"

Kibaō growled slightly. "Of course I am!" he said furiously. "The day this game began…"

Kirito received a message and toned the speech out as he read it. It was from Dweion.

' _What do we do?_ ' he asked.

Kirito grimaced, then typed, ' _Let me send a message to Diabel._ '

He did. ' _Diabel. Can you handle this?_ '

' _No idea what to do about it,_ ' came the reply. ' _We can't just let him walk over our image like this._ '

Kirito blinked. ' _Ask him who he's lost._ '

The man was just finishing saying something about trusting beta testers. As Kirito sent the note. There was a pregnant pause, filled with the sound of Kibaō's heavy breathing.

"May I speak?" said a deep voice, just as Kirito saw Diabel step forward.

Diabel seemed to be brought up short for a moment, before calling, "Please, sir, let me answer this accusation."

He made his way forward slowly before coming to a halt before Kibaō. He studied the man for a moment.

"You?" Kibaō glared at Diabel in surprised accusation. "You're a beta-tester?"

Diabel nodded. "I am."

"You going to apologize, then?" Kibaō roared.

Diabel watched him for a moment as Kirito waited with baited breath, before speaking. "Who was it?"

Kibaō blinked and took a step back, as though struck. "What?"

"Who was it?" Diabel repeated, clearly taking the role in stride. "A sibling? A friend? A lover? Who did you lose?"

Kibaō took a startled step back, his eyes growing hunted. "What are you…?"

"We—the beta-testers—" Diabel said quietly, "quite literally wrote the book on surviving in here, and then distributed it for free. We've been forming guilds and trying to bring new players into the fold, to keep them safe when we can. Any of you who tried to explore Iremark Bog, west of here, probably noticed the signs saying 'Danger,' 'High-Level Area,' and 'Level Twelve Recommended.' Those signs were put up by beta testers who lost members of their party trying to explore the area."

The blue-haired man cocked his head at the accuser who was now looking at him in an odd mixture of hate and awe. "I won't speak for all of us," Diabel said quietly. "Some of us are certainly selfish. But beta-testes don't have a monopoly on greed. So I'll ask again: Who did you lose, Kibaō?"

There was pregnant pause. "My little brother, you ass," Kibaō finally spat. "And if you'd really been keeping people safe, he'd still be here now!"

Diabel grimaced. "How old was he?"

Kibaō hit him. It did nothing significant, since they were in a town, but it did knock Diabel back slightly. Kirito's fists clenched, and there was a ripple from the crowd. "He was thirteen, you bastard!" he roared hatefully. "He was thirteen and he'd still be here if it weren't for you!"

Diabel's face was sad as he watched the man. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said.

"I don't want," Kibaō hissed, striking him again, "your pity. I want you to make _amends_!"

Diabel nodded. "I promise," he said, stepping forward slightly—Kibaō fell back to accommodate—"that I, and my guild, will be there, on the top floors, when Aincrad is cleared, or die trying. I will see us out of here." He held out his hand to the man. "I will try, as hard as I can, to get us to a world that's safer for little brothers."

There was silence. Kibaō was glaring at him with clenched fists. A second passed. Two. Then Kibaō spat on the ground and ran.

Diabel watched him go sadly. "The promise stands," he said after him, though Kirito doubted the man could hear.

After a moment of silence, the arena slowly broke out into thunderous applause. Kirito, once more, was happy to lend his hands.

"So wait," someone shouted as it began to die down. "You're a Guildmaster, Diabel-san?"

Diabel chuckled slightly. "Not at all," he said. "Just a member. My Guildmaster is in the audience, but he… doesn't like being the center of attention. I tend to speak for the guild while he actually steers it. We're called the Black Knights, and we'll be leading the charge tomorrow."

"Are you all beta-testers?" someone else asked.

Diabel nodded. "At this point, yes," he said. "There are only four of us, for now, but we're looking to recruit from among the top players so that we can clear more effectively."

The man who had offered to intervene with Kibaō raised a hand. He was a dark-skinned, very large man. "Does that mean," he asked, "that this boss clear is a sort of recruitment drive?"

Diabel shook his head. "This boss clear," he said frankly, "is a boss clear. Please, all of you, focus on surviving, not impressing my Guildmaster. You're no good to anyone dead."

* * *

 **A/N: That's a wrap. Later.**


	3. Chapter 3: Boss Room

**A/N: Got a fantastic (as in, well thought-out and constructive) review on the last chapter. Unfortunately, it was from a guest, and so I could PM reply. It was so good, though, that I'm going to respond in the A/N. The bottom A/N, though, so that you can get straight to the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Boss Room

" _Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy."  
-Joseph Campbell_

* * *

"How'd I do?" Diabel asked Kirito as he and Asuna approached the other three members of the Black Knights.

Before Kirito could respond, Kasui flicked the man. "Stop fishing," she complained.

Kirito snorted. "That bit at the end was more than impressive," he said. "Well done handling him. He turned to the girl beside him, still shrouded in her cloak. "Asuna," he introduced, "these are my guildmates: Diabel, Kasui, and Dweion. Black Knights, this is Asuna. She'll be our fifth party member."

Dweion nodded with a smile at the girl. "Nice to meet you, Asuna," he said.

Asuna took a step away from them. "How did you know my name?" she asked, her voice audibly wary.

Kirito blinked. "The indicator," he said, "in the top-left of your field of view. It shows your name and healthbar at the top, and below that it lists those of your current party members."

Her head tilted slightly, and he knew she was looking at the indicator. He saw her mouth "Kirito," and realized he'd never actually introduced himself.

Kasui caught it too. "Kirito," she chided, "Invite a girl to your party without even telling her your name first? Shame on you."

He flushed slightly. "Er… my bad," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway, Asuna, we need to get a feel for your skills before the boss. Shall we all form a party and head out to the plains for a bit of light training?

Diabel nodded. "Invite us to yours," he suggested.

Kirito nodded and did so. "Asuna," he asked, "what's your weapon preference?" he nodded at the sword at her side. "Rapier?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes," she confirmed. "I don't know that I'm very good with it, though."

Dweion cocked his head. "What's your level?" he asked.

Asuna pulled up her menu and navigated it. "Um," she hesitated. "Nine. Is that high?"

There was a pause as Kirito stared at her blankly. "Did you say," he said, then paused to swallow, "nine? As in, you're level nine?"

She nodded. "That's low, isn't it?"

Kasui snorted incredulously. "Girl," she said, "according to Argo's last statistics, the only two higher-level players are Kirito here and Heathcliff of the Blood Oath!"

"I'm level ten," Kirito said quietly. "Heathcliff, according to Argo, is level eleven. All three of the others are also level nine. You're easily within the top five percent of players right now."

Asuna looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Oh," she said. "I see."

He blinked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"All right," Dweion chuckled, "so your numbers are… shapely." Asuna seemed to shrink slightly and Dweion looked sheepish, but continued. "We still need to know how you fight to use you effectively."

Kirito nodded. "Since you're level _nine_ ," he still could barely believe that he'd happened upon such a prodigy, "that simplifies things. We can go to a higher-level area straight away." He turned to Diabel. "Iron Caves?" he asked. "The Goblins are a good approximation for the Kobold adds Illfang spawns. We'll be able to test our strategies."

Diabel nodded. "Good idea," he said. "Have you had lunch, Asuna?"

She shook her head. "It's not as though we really need to eat," she said.

Dweion looked at her in horror. "Speak for yourself," he said. " _I_ need to eat! Don't you need to eat, Kasui?"

Kasui rolled her eyes. "We _do_ certainly feel hunger," she said, "and that can distract you in a fight. Make no mistake: hunger can be fatal, if only indirectly, in this world."

Diabel nodded. "There's a player-run restaurant I found after our solo-grinding session a couple of days ago," he told them. "The girl has Cooking 60, which isn't that great in the long run, but it's about the highest anyone's gotten yet. Besides, she supplements her stuff with NPC-made food and even a couple of quest items."

Kirito cocked his head. "Cream?"

Diabel snorted. "Basically, yeah. Sound good for lunch?"

Kirito shrugged. "If you're buying," he said jokingly.

* * *

"All right," Kirito said as they congregated the next morning. Asuna had gotten her own room at the inn the Black Knights were staying at for the moment. They hadn't really wanted to buy property on the First Floor, where prices were so high, preferring instead to wait to clear the floor and get into the second-floor housing market early. "Let's go over the plan one more time," Kirito continued. "Diabel, you'll be acting sergeant, coordinating the other parties."

Diabel nodded in confirmation.

"The rest of us will be Squad A. Dweion, you're primary tank. Keep in front of us unless we switch in to hit him. Kasui, you're distance DPS."

Kasui nodded with an interruption. " _Always_ stay behind Dweion," she said wearily. "I think I got it."

Kirito rolled his eyes. "You're welcome," he grumbled. "Asuna and I are the skirmishers. We'll start with me taking the hits from the axe, and her switching in to deliver the hits. If either of us get hit—even if it's not serious, both fall back behind Dweion immediately and let Squad B take a few hits while we use healing items."

Asuna nodded.

"Meanwhile," Diabel put in, beginning to go over his part of the mission, "Squad B is focusing on the right flank, falling back if they ever pull Illfang's aggro. Squad C is on the left flank, doing the same, and Squads D, E and F will take out the adds until an avenue through appears, at which point D will cross the enemy line and start harassing Illfang from behind."

Kirito nodded. "Make sure the best tank you can find is on Squad D," he ordered Diabel. "They'll need it."

Diabel nodded. "Of course."

"Sounds like we're all ready," said Dweion, handing out the glasses of lemonade he'd gone to the counter to fetch while Kirito spoke. "Meeting with the rest of the group is in twenty minutes. Everyone up for this?"

Kirito raised his glass. The others followed suit. "To Illfang," he said with a grin. "May his death be swift and painless… for us."

* * *

"This door," Diabel said to the raid party at large, assembled in the labyrinth's corridor, "leads in to the boss room. Beyond it is Illfang the Kobold Lord. You remember what we discussed of his tactics?"

There was a murmur of assent.

"All right," Diabel said, nodding to Kirito. The rest of the Black Knights, with Asuna in tow, came up to join him. "These four," Diabel said, gesturing to them, "will be the Squad A we discussed. Fūrinkazan, led by Klein, will be Squad D. Agil," he nodded to the large, dark man who had spoken up at the meeting. "Your group will be squad B."

The other three squad assignments were distributed among less impressive players. A twitchy, barely-adult young man headed Squad C. A mousy-haired, nervous-looking older man headed squad E. A middle-aged woman with a careworn face headed squad F.

"Is everyone clear on their assignments?" Diabel asked once this was cleared.

Each group leader nodded. No one questioned them. Diabel smiled.

"Then I have only one thing to say," he said, pulling his sword out from where he had dug it into the ground. "Let's win!"

There was a cheer as he pushed the door open. They were greeted by a dark, long room, lined with Roman pillars around the ends. At the very back sat a hulking mass of armored red flesh, glaring balefully at them with luminous crimson eyes.

As the last member of the raid party entered, the door slammed shut behind them. The great monster before them stood at last and in one flying leap came to the center of the room with a great roar, and the walls lit up in a fractal luminescence of strange, washed-out neon colors, lighting the whole room up like a church lit at sunset by its stained-glass windows.

Its four healthbars filled visibly as its name and epithet appeared.

 **Illfang the Kobold Lord**

"Form up!" Diabel ordered.

Kirito drew his sword and took a position behind Dweion near the front of the crowd.

There were twenty-nine people taking part in this assault. He wondered how many would leave the room alive.

"Squad A!" Diabel called. "Move to engage!"

And with that, Kirito tuned him out until the next time he called them. Dweion gave a throaty battlecry as he led them in a charge. Illfang brought its axe up and Kirito sidestepped around Dweion to bring his sword up with all his strength and deflect the blow.

"Asuna, switch!" he called.

The girl leapt into the space he had vacated, delivering a deadly combo with her rapier even as Kasui began to lance in periodically with her spear.

Then Illfang's axe came up again and Kirito's teeth clenched. "Asuna, move!"

She did, dodging gracefully out of the way of the blow. "Kirito, switch!"

He dove inward and brought his sword up in a luminescent arc as he activated a basic Sword Skill, directly through the Kobold Lord's leg. Illfang howled and kicked.

 _Oh, they improved the AI_ , Kirito thought, even as he was sent flying.

"Kirito!" The cry sounded in several voices, which was flattering, but it also meant that far too many people were distracted.

"I'm fine!" he responded immediately. "Squad B, take the heat off Squad A!"

"Do as he says!" Diabel confirmed, and Kirito looked over to see that he was jogging over to him. "Sure you're all right?" the blue-haired man asked him.

Kirito spared his HP a glance, but the strike had been only a basic knockback. He didn't even really need healing, but he took a Minor Potion anyway. "I'm fine," he said, activating the healing item as Diabel helped him to his feet. "Thanks. Get back to work!"

"E, fall back!" Diabel ordered by way of response. "C, leave the boss and keep the adds off of E!"

Kirito grinned and picked up his sword where it had fallen. He left Diabel at a jog and made his way back to the others.

"You're okay?" Asuna's voice was tenser than he had heard it before. She had always been somewhat monotone before, but now she sounded almost panicked.

He gave her an encouraging smile. "I'm fine," he said. "Barely did any damage, and I'm healed up." He looked to the center of the room, where Illfang was slowly beating back Squad B. "Come on," he said, leading them back in. "Let's do our jobs."

"Squad A!" Diabel's voice came. "Get back in position! Squad B, let them take aggro!"

Kirito moved in, avoiding Illfangs legs this time in favor of slashing at his unprotected belly. He blocked a strike and called out as he was pushed back, "Switch!"

Asuna moved in, striking the monster five times with her rapier before she had to roll under a blow. "Switch!"

 _She really is impressive,_ Kirito mused as he delivered to fast cuts before parrying again. _She can deliver a combo of four or more strikes in the time it takes me to slash at him once or twice. Sure, her attacks are a little bit lower-damage, but her overall DPS might be higher than mine, despite my higher level._

He dove in again as Asuna fell back and leapt upward, dragging his sword through the Kobold Lord's flesh as he went, before kicking off of him and flipping back to land on his feet just in time to parry a strike.

Even as he fell back with a call of "Switch!" Illfang leapt away, and Kirito saw: the boss' final healthbar was in the red.

His fish tightened around his sword. This was where it got hard.

Illfang threw its axe and buckler away. They crashed down some distance behind it even as it reached behind its back and drew…

Kirito's stomach dropped to his toes. _That's not a Talwar._

"Everyone, fall back!" he ordered forcefully. "The boss was changed! It's not a talwar!"

"Defensive positions!" Diabel ordered. "Kirito, any insights?"

Kirito had no time to respond before Illfang leapt. With a grace and fluidity that belied the beast's massive size, it arced from one pillar to another before making one final leap… straight at Squad A.

Such was their training that they all dove wordlessly to the sides without a moment of hesitation. Kirito brought his sword up in a panicked arc behind him even as he fell, and was rewarded with a clang of metal on metal as he struck the weapon and deflected Illfang's attack slightly.

He rolled as he landed, coming up into a kneeling position, before whirling on Illfang, which had landed in a crouched position, even as the beast roared in pain as Asuna, faster than Kirito, struck it in the eye with her rapier.

Its health was easily within a single blow after that strike to a weak point. Kirito delivered. With a shout, he brought his sword down hard on its neck.

Illfang roared one last time and shattered into luminescent polygons.

There was a moment of silence before a jingle played and a great "Congratulation!" box appeared in the center of the room. Kirito snorted. Apparently grammar had not been something Argus had improved since the beta.

Then he looked down at the smaller box that had appeared before him. "You got the last attacking bonus!" it read, and the item reward was a medium-weight chestpiece—the Coat of Midnight, apparently.

"We did it!" someone shouted, and then everyone was celebrating.

No, Kirito saw, not everyone. Everywhere he looked there was at least one person in some various state of grief. Not everyone had made it out.

He stood up and looked over at Asuna… and stopped short. The last strike from the Kobold Lord's Nōdachi that he shouldn't have had must have destroyed her cloak, because she was standing uncovered, and she was _stunning_.

Long red hair ran down the length of her back, and her eyes were a deep, liquid brown like syrup. Under her cloak the wore a simple white tunic with a red vest and matching skirt. The outfit was slightly baggy and the skirt, while not long, wasn't scandalously short, yet all the same her long legs and slim figure drew his attention easily.

He blinked, shook his head slightly, and met her eyes properly for the first time. "You all right?" he asked.

She smiled at him fully; another first. "Yeah," she said. "Are you?"

He grinned. "Yeah."

"All right, everyone!" Diabel called the group to order. "Well done; we beat Illfang and cleared the first floor!"

There was cheering.

"Please, calm down," Diabel said with an authoritative gentleness. The crowd obeyed. "We did not do perfectly," he said. "Of our raid group of twenty-nine, six are dead."

There was silence as Diabel sighed. "There's nothing I can say that will really help," he said frankly. "It's true that they died fighting for a noble cause, and that their sacrifice has brought us one large step closer to returning home… but that's not what their loved ones want to hear."

He shrugged helplessly. "That is this world," he said simply. "Maybe we haven't all lost someone yet… but by the end, we will. It is our duty and privilege to carry on the noble work they started. We will get out of here. I promise. And we will never forget those who don't."

He looked down. "Sorry to bring the mood down," he said ruefully, "But I felt it needed to be said." He pointed his sword at the far door. "The Second Floor, I declare open! Kirito?"

Kirito cocked his head.

"As my Guildmaster," Diabel said, and Kirito caught the barest glint of mischief in his eye at the word, "and as the deliverer of the last attack… would you do the honors?"

Kirito sighed. "Dammit, Diabel," he grumbled as he made his way out of the crowd and across the long room. It really did feel very long with so many eyes on him. He hated being the center of attention.

He reached the great double doors and reached out his hand to push them open. They creaked slowly, and opened onto a misty stairwell, at the top of which lay another doorway… the door to the second floor.

He began to climb. The crowd followed him into the stairway as he ascended, and then watched as he pushed the second door open.

He blinked in the sudden light. The second floor was bright with daylight, like the first, although he doubted it would be as varied as the first floor.

He smiled.

"One down," he said quietly, "ninety-nine to go."

And he took his first step onto the ground of the second floor.

Then he had to sidestep to let the rush of other people pass.

One by one, his guildmates came to halt beside him. Dweion bumped fists with him, Kasui gave him a rare smile, and Diabel clasped his hand.

Last to arrive, near the back of the crowd, was Asuna. She gave them a small smile as she emerged and approached.

"Thank you for all your help," she said, looking between them. "You all taught me a great deal."

Diabel grinned at her. "Glad to be of service, Asuna."

Kirito smiled at her. "Thank _you_ ," he said. "You probably did more damage to it than any other single player with your speed."

She flushed and looked down. "I'm sure I wasn't that impressive," she said shyly.

Kirito shook his head. "You definitely are," he said. "And…" he hesitated, looking at Diabel and the others. They were watching him, clearly aware of what was on his mind.

"And?" Asuna asked looking back up at him blankly.

He sighed. "Sorry," he apologized, "not sure how to do this. Asuna," he tried again. "It would… we would… We'd like to offer you a position in the Black Knights."

She blinked at him, taking a step back. "Really?" she asked, astonished.

"Absolutely," he said, his confidence growing. "You're easily one of the best players I've seen, and more importantly, you work well with us. Unlike some other top players I could name." _Heathcliff._ "We'd be honored to have you on our roster."

She blinked at him for a moment before a smile split her features. "I'd love to join," she said happily. "What does it involve?"

"Our guild policy," Dweion took over, "is that we split drops among all those present in the party at that time. That means that if you're grinding alone, you can keep whatever you find, but if you're exploring with any of the others, you share loot with everyone. The specifics are mostly case-by-case, based on who needs what."

"It's actually fairly intuitive," Kirito said, "which I didn't expect at first. If you find something someone else needs, you give it to them; otherwise, you usually keep it. Dividing the loot equally isn't usually a big priority, and is done at the end of the day."

"We have a guild storage," Diabel put in, "or we will as soon as we have a guild house. We're… not really sure what we'll do with that yet, to be honest."

"But a guild house is like a home base," Kasui said. "We have enough col to buy one on the second floor tonight, so we will. We get cheap teleport crystals that can take us there instantly from anywhere in Aincrad, and it'll have facilities for all of the basic skills."

Asuna was blinking at them, looking slightly overloaded. "Wait…" she said, clearly trying to catch up. After a moment, she gave up. "What?"

Kirito smiled at her. "Basically," he summed up, "we work together to support each other, whether that's in combat, or while exploring, or just in town. We get our own place to live, with a place to train our side skills, and can teleport there at any time. We also get a common storage space for items. So…?" he cocked his head at her. "You still in?"

She blinked once more and then smiled at him. "Of course," she said. "How do I join?"

"By clicking," Kirito said, navigating his menu and sending her a guild invite, "the blue circle."

She giggled and tapped it.

"Welcome, Asuna," Dweion boomed jovially, "to the Black Knights!"

"Now let's get into town and find a house quickly," Kasui said. "We want to beat the crowds, remember?"

Kirito snorted. "I haven't even let Argo know we've finished yet," he said. "I'll do that while we walk. She'll spread the word. Oh!" he added, opening his menu. "Before we go… look what I got."

He put on the Coat of Midnight. It settled heavily on his shoulders: a long black coat, armored in places, reaching down to his knees.

He grinned. "I like it," he told them. "Remind me never to get any armor that doesn't look like this."

* * *

It was only about four in the afternoon when they reached the second floor. It took them a couple more hours to find a Guild House. It was actually in the next town over, which had not had a path cleared to it yet, so they got dinner at a local restaurant while they decided what to do.

"Can we not go and clear an entire path the same day that we cleared a Boss Room?" Kasui asked wearily as she sipped at her water. Their food hadn't arrived yet, but they'd been served drinks to start with.

"The way I see it," Kirito said, "I'd rather sleep in my own bed for the first time in a month tonight than tomorrow night. Besides, _no one_ wants to clear tonight. That lets us get ahead of the curve."

Dweion shrugged with a grumbled, "Well, you're the boss…"

Kirito glared at him balefully. "No pulling that crap," he said. "We're in this together. So that's two votes against, I guess. Diabel, Asuna?"

Asuna shrugged with a yawn. "I'm tired," she admitted, "but I also want to see our new house. If I can get some coffee in me I'll be fine."

Diabel looked at her, assessing. "Fine for two more hours of hard grinding?" he asked slowly. "These mobs are going to be level seven at least, with elites spiking up to level eight or even nine. It'll be dangerous, and if we're not able to operate effectively we shouldn't go out."

Asuna nodded. "I'm good with coffee," she said firmly. "It won't be the first time I've had to pull an all-nighter with it. I work well with caffeine."

Kirito cocked his head. "Did you see a coffee shop in town?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Just down the road from here."

Their food arrived and distracted them for a time. It wasn't superb—nothing like a high-Cooking player would be capable of making—but it was decidedly palatable.

Their meal was interrupted, however, by a new arrival. "Kirito?" a voice asked from behind him.

Kirito craned his neck around to see a young man—no, not even a man, a boy—with pale skin, dark hair, and pale blue eyes. They looked slightly red, not as if he had been crying, but rather as if his eyes were perpetually watery.

He wore a suit of light cloth armor, clearly designed for function, and a shortsword was sheathed at his side.

"It is you, right?" he asked in a voice Kirito half-recognized. It had a strangely audible quality, as if even if he spoke in a crowd he would be heard…

Suddenly Kirito realized where he'd heard this boy before. "You were the guy who figured out what Kayaba meant before he finished," he realized. "I was standing pretty close to you."

The boy's mouth twitched slightly, although what expression it moved toward, Kirito couldn't say. "That was me," he said. "You are the Black Knights, yes?"

Kirito nodded. "We are."

The boy smiled slightly. "Good. Can I sit down?"

Kirito nodded, moving his chair around the circumference of the circular table to make room. "Pull up a chair," he offered.

The boy did. "My name is Intel," the boy said, "And I have an offer for the Black Knights."

Kirito looked at him curiously. "An offer?" he asked. "For a trade?"

"For a job," Intel corrected. "I'm working on an analysis of mob behavioral patterns. If I can extrapolate some of the AI code behind them, it should allow clearers like you to prepare in advance for higher-floor mobs long before we ever reach them."

Dweion whistled. "Quite the ambitious project," he said. "Dabbled a bit in code myself, IRL. Is it even possible?"

The boy sneered slightly. "I did a good deal more than dabble," he said frostily. "It's possible."

Kirito frowned at him. "That would certainly be valuable," he acknowledged. "What do you need us for?"

"I need your protection," Intel said, leaning forward into the table and watching them. "You're the only clearer guild I think will be strong enough to get me where I need to go."

"Why not go to the Blood Oath?" Kasui asked blandly. "They're certainly higher-profile."

"Until today they were," Intel acknowledged. "Until the Black Knights cleared the first floor with a crew of newbies."

"Not all of them were newbies," Diabel corrected. "Asuna, here, was among them, after all."

Intel rolled his eyes. "You were the only clearer guild present, then," he said. "Either way. The Blood Oath, should I approach them, would send me out with a high-level commander and his troupe of recruits, and we'd all either get killed or waste our time in areas too low-difficulty to be of value to me. The Black Knights have only one party, and you're all high enough level to survive the areas I need to get to."

Kirito nodded. "I understand. You essentially want to hire us as bodyguards."

"In a sense," Intel agreed. "Of course, grinding is its own reward in this world, so in a way I'll be paying you to do what you'd do anyway. But I will be paying."

Kirito nodded. "When did you have in mind to do this operation? And did you have a specific location in mind?"

"The sooner, the better," Intel said. "I want to examine a standard-tier area on an unexplored floor. It's either explore one of the uncleared roads or plains on this floor sometime in the next two days, maximum, or wait for the next floor."

"I think we can help you tonight," Diabel said, looking at Kirito. "It's three to two in favor."

Intel cocked an eyebrow. "Tonight?"

Kirito nodded, draining his glass. "We need to get to our new guild house in the next town over," he said. "We were debating whether to head out tonight or tomorrow. It appears we just decided on tonight. Kasui, Dweion, you okay with that?"

Kasui sighed. "I'll get coffee with Asuna," she said, "and I will be."

Dweion grunted. "Same here."

"Good," said Kirito, turning to Intel. "How much are you paying?"

Intel considered him for a moment. "1k Col," he said after a moment.

Kirito snorted. "Take this seriously, please."

Intel's lips twitched again. "If you insist. 10k."

"15k," Kirito grunted refilling his glass, "at minimum."

"You don't start with a minimum," Intel snorted. "11k."

"15k."

"I… don't think you understand how this is supposed to work."

Kirito peered at him sidelong for a moment before nodding. "15k."

Intel grimaced. "12k."

"15k."

Intel glared at him. "I can always wait for the next floor, and the Blood Oath to get strong enough to help properly."

Kirito nodded. "Or," he said, "you could give me 15k and be done now."

Intel gritted his teeth. "12.5k, half in advance."

Kirito chuckled. "I assumed it was _going_ to be half in advance," he said. "I'm not taking you out into the wilderness without some insurance in case you get killed off."

Intel hissed. "Not going above 13k."

"I said minimum, didn't I?"

They watched each other for a moment. Then Intel shook his head. "I'm actually serious this time," he said. "13k's already pushing it."

Kirito nodded. "13k," he said, "one-quarter in advance."

Intel blinked at him. "What?"

"Deal?" Kirito asked with a raised eyebrow.

Intel shook his head. "Deal," he said wearily. "You played me, didn't you?"

Kirito nodded. "Basically, yeah. You had dinner yet?"

* * *

Kirito sipped at his coffee while he waited for the others' orders to emerge. His had been the last cop from the restaurants current kettle of hot water, and the NPCs were now heating another over a fire.

"Sure this is a good idea, Kirito?" Diabel asked him quietly. "This'll be dangerous. We don't know anything about this floor."

Kirito nodded. "I know," he said "But we're five of the strongest players in Aincrad at this point. If it gets too hairy we'll fall back."

Diabel sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said.

"It's a risk," Kirito acknowledged, "but I think it's worth it. 13k brings us not quite back to where we were before buying the house, but a good step towards it. And I think we can handle it."

Diabel nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think we can, too."

"This is actually pretty good coffee," Asuna said, joining them. "They don't have real-world factory procedures, so it's all hand-ground and brewed. Cooking level or no, that counts for something."

Kirito nodded with a smile at her. "Yeah," he agreed. "I wonder if anyone will ever reach max cooking, so we can see what things can taste like at best?"

Asuna cocked her head. "What is the max level?"

"For side skills like cooking, 1000," Kirito said. "For combat, no one's sure. People think it's probably around 200 or 300."

Asuna nodded. "Maybe I'll try for max cooking," she mused.

Kirito cocked an eyebrow at her. "You sure?" he asked. "it takes a lot of work—time you could be spending grinding combat skills."

She shrugged. "Life here isn't worth living if you don't take the time to enjoy it."

Kirito sipped his coffee. "Agreed," he said. "Maybe we should take the day off tomorrow?"

"Let's get through the night first," Diabel said as Intel approached with his coffee. "Then we'll talk about the morning."

* * *

 **A/N: First of all, I want to go for full disclosure about Intel, as there's great deal of (justified) OC fear in the fanfiction community, and I feel he rings a few alarm bells. So I'm going to explain, in full, his origins in conception and as much of his character as I've nailed down, and you can read it if you like and judge whether he's a Sue for yourself. If you don't want to spoil his character for yourself and are willing to trust me, don't read between the lines.**

* * *

 **Intel is inspired by Artemis Fowl, from the eponymous novels. He's similar in that he's a child intellectual prodigy. He's different in motives and particular skillset. Artemis Fowl is basically the Batman of his series, always knowing enough about any given topic to make a plan and enact it. Intel is… less versatile. He's a mathematical and statistical genius, and an accomplished computer scientist, but—as you've already seen—he's bad with people, to the point that even socially-awkward Kirito was able to scalp him. His psychological understanding can be summed up as "People are weird." In short, he's selectively knowledgeable, which is necessary to maintain balance in the story.**

 **As to his character in general, he derives some arrogance from his original source, but he's not narcissistic the way Artemis is in the first two books. Nor, however, is he heroic the way Artemis becomes by the end of the series. He's far from generous—like Artemis—but unlike Artemis by the end of the series, he's also not self-sacrificing. He would struggle mightily to give his life for a friend, or even for Aincrad as a whole. At the same time, however, he cares about people's lives in a way Artemis never really does in his books, as you might be able to see by what he's currently trying to do.**

 **I don't know. The "Genius" archetype always trips the Sue alarms. I don't feel Intel qualifies. You can decide for yourselves.**

* * *

 **Next, as promised, the review response. The review was sent from "Sword Art Guest" and had several numbered questions. I will answer each, both by number and with a brief summary of the question, in case anyone else is wondering the same thing.**

 **Question 1 was asking whether this story will go through each consecutive floor or jump around based on the story arcs. The latter is true. There are simply too many floors, and too much happening on some of them, to justify the alternative.**

 **Question 2 asked if I was planning to go past floor 75 into post-Aincrad story arcs, possibly including elements from the non-canon video games. The answer is that this story will span Aincrad and have an epilogue—possibly a multi-chapter one—describing the post-Aincrad world. It is conceivable that I'll write a sequel set in GGO, ALO, or even the Alicization story, but it's unlikely. Aincrad was where this series shone, and the canon arc didn't do it justice.**

 **Question 3 asked if I was going to be incorporating canon character who weren't in SAO into Aincrad (such as Sinon, Suguha, or Yūki). The answer is that no such plans exist, and since I have the whole fic planned out they are unlikely to appear.**

 **Question 4 was about saving characters, and whether, since I seem to be saving Diabel, I was going to be saving other potentially interesting canon characters such as Sachi and Griselda. In addition, the question went on to ask whether arcs like the Black Cats story would play out similarly. The answer to the latter is easy: no. In general, very little in this fic will resemble canon directly, although broad events will still happen. Kirito touched a lot of lives in canon, and those lives were the focus of the series. Differences to him, change the world we see. Not necessarily either for the worse or the better in every instance. I think that rather answers the first part as well: yes, people who die may not be the same people as in canon. People will, of course, still die.**

 **Question 5 asked whether we would be seeing non-player's perspectives. Specific examples include the families of the players in the "real" world, and (alternatively) Yui. The answer is that it honestly hadn't occurred to me. I can already think of an instance where it might drive a point home, but I've been sticking fairly solidly to Kirito's head thus far. We'll have to see.**

 **That was the last of the numbered questions, but a final concern addressed my plan of writing one chapter in advance (which is still in effect: chapter 4 was completed today). The worry was that this would prevent me from accepting or incorporating readers' suggestions and ideas. I don't think it'll be a problem, for two reasons. First, I always go over the chapter before posting it—partly for proofreading, and partly to make final changes. Any suggestions that need to be incorporated can be applied then without too much difficulty. Second, the number of suggestions I've had on fanfiction that needed to be incorporated by the very next chapter can be counted on one hand. Without using fingers. So I doubt it'll come up, but I'm prepared if it does.**


	4. Chapter 4: Wild Hunt

**A/N: In accordance with critique received, Chapter 1 has received a major overhaul. I recommend you reread it… assuming you don't have to anyway, given the long hiatus.**

 **Speaking of critique, I've kept it out of the author's notes thus far, but this story has been receiving a few… interesting reviews. I'm not sure whether this is a fact of this fandom or whether my story just drew out a particular crowd, but I've gotten a lot of attention from a few specific people who deliver legitimate reviews, chock-full of valuable criticism, but buried in harsh and even cruel language and diction. It's part of why it was so hard to finish chapter 5 and post chapter 4. I had so many projects that it seemed silly to write the one where I could reasonably expect a response along the lines of "here's everything you did wrong, you fucking moron."**

 **I had an interesting conversation with someone about SAO the other night, though, and it allowed me to bust out the last two-hundred words. That being said, since I'm here, I'd like to put out feelers: has anyone else with stories in this archive found it to be like this? No other story I've written has gotten quite this type of response, and I'm curious.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Wild Hunt

" _There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."  
-George Carlin_

* * *

"Asuna, switch!" Kirito shouted as he rolled out of the way of the Wolf's lunge.

Kasui and Dweion were working together on the group's left while Asuna and Kirito kept the right clear. Diabel was hanging back to cover Intel, who was visibly typing rapidly in his Player's Log.

Asuna dove in and took out the Wolf with a few quick strikes. "These things are getting stronger, Kirito," she said breathlessly. "That one almost survived my full combo."

Kirito nodded. "I know," he agreed, rounding on another and catching its claws on the flat of his sword before pushing it away and slashing its chest. "I don't know why, but we should be almost through!"

"Intel, you're carrying the map!" Dweion called. "How are we doing?"

There was a pause as Intel flicked through his interface. "We're about two-thirds of the way to Chalkton!" he called. "At this rate we should be there in about 45 minutes!"

Kirito grimaced. That was more than he'd expected.

The sun on this floor set just as they left town at around 7. They'd thought nothing of it at first, strapping lanterns to their belts without worry. They'd been in for an unpleasant surprise when the moon rose half an hour later, full and blood-red, and suddenly the floor was full of howling.

Wolves. Wolves everywhere they turned. Their fur was grey and matted, their eyes blood-red, their jaws slathering hungrily as they rushed the party of six.

For the next hour it had been an unending fight for their lives. Kirito was still uncertain how they'd made it this far. Dweion had taken a serious hit fairly early on and had had to switch out with Diabel to recover. Kirito himself had been bitten in the leg and had sustained a "slowed" status condition which would have lasted a full hour had they not been stocked with Cure-Alls. As it was, he'd had to switch out for a while to apply it and heal up.

The rewards were significant. Kasui, who had the lowest Strength of the guild, had already hit her carrying capacity for loot, and Asuna and Diabel, who were nearly tied for second, were nearing theirs. Not all the items were mere trash drops, either. Kirito had seen Rare and even a Legendary item or two fall into his inventory.

All that was not considering the XP gain. Asuna and Kirito had both leveled up already, and Dweion and Kasui had both nearly followed. Kirito wondered if Heathcliff had leveled up in the past day; if not, Kirito was now one of the two strongest people in the castle. Intel, too, had leveled up, but only to level seven. He really had needed protection for this area.

But it would all be for nothing if they died out here.

Kirito ducked under a leaping Wolf and drove his sword upward into its unprotected belly. "Just keep it up!" he called to his friends. "Check your targets, and keep calm! We can take this!"

He slashed upward and cleaved a Wolf's skull in two. It kept lunging and he barely dove out of its way enough that it only clipped his shoulder. He slashed at it again and it shattered.

"They're surviving direct hits!" Dweion bellowed before Kirito could speak. "We need to get out of here now!"

Kirito nodded, sidestepping to allow Asuna a clear shot at another enemy. "You're right!" he responded. "We have no choice. Just charge through!"

They began to run, ignoring any Wolf not in their path and rolling between them where they could. When one absolutely had to be killed, they wordlessly combined their assaults to focus on it so that it died before they had to stop.

The horde grew and swelled behind them. Kirito knew that now that they had started running, if they stopped they would certainly be overrun. They had been moving at about half of walking speed, so he thought they had a good chance at making it to Chalkton, but if their Stamina gave out it would mean certain death now.

Kirito swung his sword about and cut through a Wolf that stood in his path, pushing it out of his way even as he ducked under it. Beside him he saw Asuna deliver a fatal blow to it.

 _God, Asuna…_ he thought. _I'm so sorry for dragging you into this._

They ran, and the pack ran at their heels. Diabel had fallen behind Intel and was blocking the occasional leap with his shield. Intel had started panting—a telltale sign of flagging Stamina.

Kirito gritted his teeth. Dweion had the highest Strength. "Dweion, carry Intel!" he ordered. "Keep going!"

Dweion slowed to scoop Intel into his arms. "Arms around my neck," he ordered, "and legs around my chest. _Don't let go._ "

Kirito spun to slice through another Wolf, and kept running. This continued for some five minutes of maddened rush before something on the horizon caught his eye.

"Light!" he shouted exuberantly. "I can see Chalkton!"

Dweion laughed breathlessly. "We're almost out!"

Just then, there was another sound. It was a howl, but Kirito knew the moment he heard it that it wasn't another wolf. It was lower, and harsher, and had a ringing quality that sank teeth of cold fear into his chest.

Immediately, the pack stopped attacking him, but Kirito was not reassured. They formed a circle around the group, growling, barking, snapping at them, but never attacking.

"What's going on, Kirito?" Asuna practically gasped the question, and Kirito realized her Stamina, too, must be draining.

"I don't know, Asuna," he answered. "I don't know."

Then the pack parted before them and Kirito skidded to a halt. His Guild followed suit.

There, in the center of the clearing opened by the Wolves, was a creature Kirito had feared they might encounter since the moon had risen. A mane of grey fur bunched around its head and ran down its back, but its chest and belly and the insides of its legs were bare skin. Its arms—for it stood on two legs—ended in four clawed fingers and a similarly vicious opposable thumb. Its teeth were yellow and sharp as knives.

Kirito swallowed when he saw its name and healthbars. Plural.

 **Molkniir the Wolfman**

Three healthbars taunted Kirito with their green contents. It was a boss.

He took a ready stance. "Black Knights," he shouted, "form up!"

Dweion put Intel down and moved forward to stand in front of Kasui. Asuna moved closed to Kirito. Diabel brought his shield up in front of Intel.

"Asuna and I are Team A," Kirito said. "Dweion, Kasui, Team B. Diabel, keep Intel safe."

There was a silent assent. "Team A," Kirito ordered with a breath, "move in!"

He charged the boss. It howled and dove for him. He rolled out of the way and swiped at his back, then rolled out of the way of its counter. As it rushed back towards him, Asuna dove at it with flurry of attacks. It stopped to kick back at her, but she sidestepped out of its way gracefully.

"B, switch!" Kirito ordered as the beast bore down on him.

Dweion charged with a throaty roar, warhammer raised high. He brought it down hard on the beast's head, but rather than staggering, it whirled on him and slashed his gut with a claw. He cried out and fell back.

Kasui screamed, "Dweion!" and lunged at a distance with her spear. Molkniir parried it with a paw and took a menacing step towards her, growling, clearly charging some sort of attack.

Kirito stepped away, out of its reach and looked down for a rock to throw, but there was nothing but smooth earthy loam at his feet. "Kasui, _move_!" he shouted, almost pleading.

There was no time, he could see that. Molkniir's muscles rippled as its tensed in preparation for a pounce, and Kirito had a bad feeling that a direct hit from a second-floor Event Boss would be a one-hit kill to any member of their party, especially low-Vitality Kasui.

Then, suddenly, there was a glint of metal and the beast staggered back, interrupted. Kirito caught a glimpse of its chest as it threw its head back to howl. Intel's shortsword had sunk deep into its breast.

It was still far from dead, though; the sustained injury was draining its health, but it was still half full on its second healthbar.

"B," Kirito ordered, forcing himself not to stop for relief, "get back and recover!" He leapt at the boss with a wild cry, his sword arcing in midair to cut deeply into its neck.

Molkniir staggered away from the blow with a furious growl, backhanding him hard as it turned to face him. The blow knocked Kirito out of the air and into the ground at the beast's feet. He forced himself to roll out of its way despite his lungs, emptied from the blow, crying out for air.

Not a moment too soon: The Wolfman stomped down just where he had landed even as he vacated the space, raking the earth with its claws, roaring all the while.

Asuna lunged past Kirito and jabbed at Molkniir with another flurry. The boss staggered back with a howl. Kirito glanced at his healthbar and froze.

It was on its last healthbar. Most bosses in SAO changed attack patterns at some point during their final healthbar. Molkniir, like Illfang, had been unexpectedly advanced, but that had remained true for the Kobold Lord; there was no reason to suspect it wouldn't hold for the Wolfman.

"Look out!" Kirito gasped through burning lungs. "It's attack pattern will change!"

"What pattern?" Dweion called back hoarsely.

It took but a moment for Kirito to be proven right. Molkniir's fur grew out, coating him in a ball of impenetrable grey. Kirito took advantage of the momentary respite consume a potion as Asuna attempted another strike. It glanced off.

"He's resistant!" Kirito called. "Fall back, Asuna!"

She leapt back to him. "Are you all right, Kirito?" she asked quickly, through labored breaths.

He nodded, gasping for breath. "Yeah," he said, watching the pulsating mass of fur as it began to twitch. "I'm okay." Then Molkniir moved. "Look alive!"

The Wolfman burst out of his shell of fur, and now it looked different. It had grown slightly, and spines of white bone emerged like blades from its elbows and ankles. Luminous red lines ran across its body, forming swirling patterns like some sort of bizarre glowing war paint. Its eyes, formerly red and bloodshot, now lacked whites entirely and were a solid, eerily fluorescent crimson. Its teeth and claws were no longer the vicious yellowed messes Kirito had seen before; instead, bright silver blades tipped its hands and filled its maw.

Molkniir growled a taunt and dove for Kirito.

Asuna and Kirito rolled in opposite directions away from the charge even as Dweion swung his hammer in their direction. Kirito heard a disappointing thud as it connected with the earth unimpeded, and rolled to the side like a log, hoping to avoid whatever second strike Molkniir had thrown.

The Wolfman was expecting it. Kirito's eyes went wide and panicked as the silver claws tore a graze into his side. There was no pain, but there didn't need to be: the horror Kirito felt as his heath dropped from full to the red in an instant was suffering enough.

 _Notherenotlikethishelpme_

There was a throaty roar from somewhere behind him even as Kirito dove away from the Wolfman in a panic. A clang of metal on metal, and a roar from the boss—rage, or triumph?—echoed behind him as he fumbled for a potion. He could barely hear the sounds of battle over the ringing in his ears, and his fingers felt clumsy and strange.

Then Asuna was there, her arm around him as she pushed one into his hand. He took it wordlessly and drank greedily. She called something back to the others about not getting hit.

Kirito shook his head. A mist seemed to be clearing from his head. His heart slowed, and the rushing in his ears faded.

"Team A, _move_!" the voice was Intel's but the response was instant. Kirito, despite the muggy feeling in his head, dove immediately out of the way. He turned as he landed to see the Wolfman bearing down on him, silver claws out and ready.

Kirito's eyes narrowed as the last of the fog cleared from his head. Molkniir's health was low—low enough that one good hit might do it in. Kirito rolled out of the way of the boss' slash and swung wildly with his sword.

The blow connected on the striking arm. Molkniir reared back with a howl as its health drained, but it wasn't quite dead. Its eyes met his and it tensed in preparation for a lunge at him.

Then it stopped. Its eyes dulled. The tip of a rapier emerged from the center of its chest.

Molkniir the Wolfman shattered before Kirito's eyes, and Asuna appeared in his field of view from behind it, rapier raised and fire in her eyes.

There was a dead silence for a moment before one of the wolves surrounding them howled. It was followed by all the others as the pack scattered, baying, into the night.

The six players looked at each other in silence for a few seconds before Kirito stood up.

"Let's get into town," he said quietly, picking up the shortsword that had fallen when its monstrous sheathe shattered and handing it back to Intel. "We're not safe yet."

* * *

It was a weary and silent group that limped into Chalkton a few minutes later. Asuna had not yet told them what her last-attack bonus item was, but Dweion and Kasui had both gained levels after the fight, and Diabel was likely near to it.

Kirito didn't care. He felt numb. He couldn't believe they were all still alive, and the fact that there was even a question was horrible.

Asuna took his arm. "Kirito," she said lowly, "let's go into that inn and get drinks."

Kirito nodded dumbly and allowed himself to be led into the building. The room was loud and bustling with NPCs, sitting at tables and having conversations which seemed just natural enough to pass a cursory examination, or walking between them and serving food and drink from trays.

Kirito sat heavily in the first empty table he saw. The others joined him in silence. Asuna, sitting at his right, flagged a waiter and ordered a round of chamomile infusions for them. Then the table sank into silence.

At length Kirito sighed. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Don't be," Kasui replied instantly. "None of us could have expected that."

Kirito shook his head. "I got cocky," he said quietly. "It almost got us all killed."

Asuna put an arm around his shoulders. "You also kept us alive," she told him gently. "If we'd been out there without you to organize us, we'd all be dead."

Kirito snorted. "All I did was make three squads and tell them to swap," he said. "Anyone could do that."

"Not everyone would consider it, though," Diabel comforted. "You're underestimating your talents."

Kirito shook his head mutely, looking down at the table. "Regardless, we shouldn't have been out there at all. If we'd even waited one night to head out, we'd have seen the wolves outside during the night and realized that nights were dangerous on this floor."

"Each floor seems to have its own… gimmicks," Intel said suddenly, breaking into their conversation. Kirito felt the attention shift off of him, but didn't look up. "Although it's hard to say, having only seen two. But there's no record of anything like that on the second floor, or in a standard area in any floor. Some of the dungeons had day/night dependent features, but none of the floors themselves."

"I certainly don't remember anything like that in the beta," Diabel agreed. "It wasn't reasonable to expect a mess like that, Kirito."

Kirito shrugged, but didn't look up. Asuna squeezed him gently with the arm she still hadn't pulled from around him.

"If I want to keep players safe," Intel said, "I can't just predict monster's AI, extrapolating runtimes for the upper floors from the ones below. Not with an added variable like this. I need to be on those floors early."

"You'll need to train up for that," Dweion said gruffly. "Level seven is decent, but not high enough for a clearer at this point."

"I could keep hiring clearers like you," Intel suggested. "It'll cost me, but… it's just Col."

"It'll cost us," Asuna put in harshly, her arm tightening protectively around Kirito. "What if, next time, someone dies because of a mission like this?"

"We couldn't know anything like this was in store," Intel said coldly. "There was no precedent. I'll be sure to be more careful next time."

Kirito looked up. "We all will," he agreed. "Intel, are you working for Argo the Rat, or are you her competitor?"

Intel shook his head, studying him warily. "Neither," he said slowly. "Argo specializes in information about non-combat details of the game; items, drop distributions, trade data, and the like. I focus almost exclusively on keeping clearers alive through mob data."

Kirito nodded. "Then she won't mind if I work with you," he said to himself.

"Guildmaster," Dweion said sharply. Kirito turned to him. The man's eyes were red and weary, and there was not a trace of his usual smile on his features. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Is what a good idea?" Intel asked slowly.

"Kirito," Kasui said tightly, "is considering offering you a place on the Guild roster."

"I agree with Dweion, then," Intel put in immediately. "You're not at your best, Kirito. Don't make guild decisions right now of all times."

Kirito studied him. "If I offered you a spot on the guild," he asked, "would you accept?"

Intel met his gaze. "It depends on what you would expect of me," he said, "and whether I felt like you were in a condition to make that call. You're not. End of discussion." He withdrew a sack of Col from his inventory and handed it to Kirito, who took it wordlessly. "I'll see you again, Guildmaster," he said, "one way or another." He stood to leave.

"Wait," Kirito said. Intel paused. "Is your profile private?" Kirito asked as he navigated his interface to his friends list.

Intel nodded. "It is. Why?"

"Add me as a friend," Kirito said. "I want to be able to contact you."

Intel shrugged and opened his menu. "I can do that," he agreed. There was a moment of silence as they connected. "Done," Intel said, nodding at Kirito. "Keep in touch, Guildmaster."

Kirito watched him go, then sighed wearily. "Why do people call me that?" he asked wearily.

"Look," Diabel said, his voice conciliatory. "Let's get to this house we've heard so much about, get some sleep, and reconvene in the morning. None of us are in any shape to have a proper conversation about what happened."

Kirito gave a weary nod and opened his menu to examine the deed he'd bought. "It's down a side street he said. "Just a couple of blocks away."

"Then let's go," Dweion said wearily, standing and stretching.

"Not yet," Asuna told him coolly as she took her tea from the NPC waitress who had just arrived. "First we drink our tea."

"Um," the waitress put in, looking from one to another of them with a passable imitation of nervousness, "Will you be needing the sixth cup, for the gentleman who left?"

Asuna downed her cup in one gulp, gently lowered the empty mug to the table, and took the spare from the waitress with a smile. "Yes," she said. "We need the sixth cup."

* * *

Kirito stared up at the shadowed ceiling, eyes glazed with tiredness. They had would the house soon after leaving, and it had been just before ten when they got in and decided on the sleeping situation. The house was a large one, with six bedrooms, so each of them took one. Kirito had barely had enough time to equip thinner, softer clothes before he had collapsed into the mattress.

Even so, sleep had not come. He doubted he would be able to stand right now if he tried, but he could not close his eyes and sleep.

He did not know how long he had been lying there, his mind running in circles. He couldn't help thinking of Asuna's face as she struck down the boss, the mingled fear and rage that had dominated her features; of Dweion's cry as the beast tore a gash into his side.

 _Notherenotlikethishelpme_

…Of the stark terror that had flowed through his veins when his health dropped from 100% to 5% in half a second.

He stretched his hand upward so that its back was visible as a pale silhouette against the black. _Am I really suited for this?_ He wondered despairingly. _If I panicked so easily, am I even suited to be a clearer, let alone lead a Guild?_

There was a soft knock on his door. "Come in," he called hoarsely.

It was Asuna, with two mugs. "I thought you might still be awake," she whispered, coming over to his bedside and putting down the drinks on his end table before taking a seat on his bed. "I made hot chocolate."

Kirito smiled at her. He hoped it looked sincere. "Thank you, Asuna," he said, forcing himself into a sitting position and propping his back up against his pillow. He took one of the mugs and sipped at it.

He blinked. "Is it good?" Asuna asked worriedly.

He nodded. "Yes," he answered honestly, taking another sip. "Very. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Asuna beamed, taking her own cup and sipping at it. They sat there in silence for a time, just sipping at the warm drink.

"What's wrong, Kirito?" Asuna asked him eventually. "Tonight went poorly, but… what part of it is bothering you?"

Kirito looked away from her, into a dark corner of the room. "I lost sight of the risks," he said, "and we almost paid for it."

"We all lost sight of the risks," Asuna said gently. "I've only been with you for two days, and already I started to forget how dangerous it is here. The fact that you can keep us safe enough that we can forget the danger is… impressive."

Kirito shook his head. "As Guildmaster, it's my job to keep you all safe," he said, "and I failed to do that."

Asuna took his hand. "The way I see it," she corrected him warmly, "your job as Guildmaster is to lead us; nothing more or less."

He looked at her. "It's the same thing."

She shook her head with a smile. "It's not," she told him. "We're clearers, Kirito. We're not here to stay alive. We'd like to, but…" she squeezed his hand. "If you could secure the lives of the rest of Aincrad by dying, would you?"

"Of course."

"That's why we're here. We're all here as the sacrifices. Your job, Kirito," she said, pulling him into a hug, "is just to make sure that we get as much of this world cleared as we can."

Kirito buried his head in her shoulder. She smelled faintly of strawberries. "How can I do that?" he asked faintly. "How, if I panic like that at a hint of danger?"

Asuna giggled.

He pulled away and stared at her. "What?"

She was smiling at him. "Is that what this was about?" she asked. "That panic attack?"

He recoiled. "Yes!" he said, hurt. "I can't panic like that in the middle of a fight!"

"You didn't!" said Asuna with another giggle. "I saw your status, Kirito; in the corner, like you showed me. There was a little icon by your healthbar. I looked it up in the player's guide: the boss inflicted 'Panic' status on you!"

Kirito stared at her.

"So you didn't lose your head," Asuna said encouragingly. "You were under a status condition!"

Kirito blinked at her. "Asuna," he said quietly, "players can't be infected with mental status effects."

Asuna looked surprised. "What?" she said. "But I saw you! I saw the icon!"

Kirito didn't know what to think. "I want to believe you," he told her gently. _But how do I know if that's not just because I want an excuse?_ "But in the entire beta, no player was ever affected with a mental status condition."

Asuna blinked at him. "Then… this must be something that was changed for the full release?"

Kirito nodded slowly. "I guess." He looked down into his cocoa. "That's… terrifying."

"Why?" Asuna asked confusedly. "If we can inflict those conditions on monsters, why shouldn't the reverse be true?"

"Because in order to inflict a condition like that," Kirito said slowly, a sinking feeling in his stomach, "the NerveGear must be able to modify our real-body brain chemistry on the fly. The risks involved… are not minor."

Asuna took his hand again. "We'll just have to be more careful, then." Her voice was cool, soothing his fevering thoughts. "Nothing bad happened, and it wasn't your fault. It's all right, Kirito. We're all safe."

Kirito tightened his grip around her hand but didn't answer.

They sat like that for a little while, sipping occasionally from the rapidly cooling drinks, until eventually Kirito took to drink and found his cup empty.

Asuna noticed. She pulled her hand away from his gently and took the cup from him. "I'll go wash these," she said gently, standing up. "You get some sleep."

Kirito nodded, pulling his pillow back down and laying back, pulling the covers back over him. "Thank you, Asuna," he said softly.

She smiled at him. "My pleasure, Guildmaster."

 _Don't call me that,_ he tried to murmur, but he fell asleep too quickly.

* * *

The guild convened again the next morning. Everyone looked a good deal better than they had the night before. Kasui's frown had reverted to its usual calm, and Dweion's jovial smile was back in place.

"Right," Kirito said when everyone had assembled. Asuna had prepared breakfast, and had gotten compliments all around on its quality. "We need to talk about last night."

There was a round of solemn nods. Asuna gave him an encouraging smile.

"First off," Kirito said, steepling his fingers, "going out there last night was a bad idea."

"In caps," Dweion agreed. "A Bad Idea."

Kirito snorted slightly. "We weren't expecting there to be a day/night dependent mob cycle on the floor proper, and we almost paid for it. It was a lesson. We must never assume we know how this world works. It will always surprise us, and the surprise might kill us."

There was a silent agreement from all quarters.

"Second" Kirito continued, "the boss. Well done on that, everyone. Two bosses in one day is far beyond the norm, and we all did admirably."

Dweion slammed his fist into the table. "No kidding!" he roared merrily. "That fight was call for celebration!"

Kirito smiled. "We gained levels, loot… we did very well, yes," he agreed. "Speaking of which, Asuna, what did you get for the last attack?"

She smiled and navigated her inventory. "This," she said happily as a red and white battledress appeared around her body. "It's got better stats than my previous armor, and—" she stood and twirled "—it looks much nicer, too!"

Kirito chuckled with a nod. It did look quite nice; enough so that, were it not for the gleam of the metal-plate components, he might have thought it was a dress uniform of some description. "Good," he said. "Good armor can be better than a good sword. That'll help a great deal."

She smiled with a nod.

"Third," Kirito moved on, "that panic attack I suffered near the end of the fight. Asuna?"

Asuna nodded. "I looked at Kirito's status when I gave him my potion," she said. "He was under the 'Panic' status condition."

"Impossible," Kasui said. "Players can't suffer mental status."

Kirito nodded. "That's what I said," he agreed. "But Asuna insists she saw the icon. Besides which…" he shrugged. "I was beating myself up over losing it yesterday," he told them, "but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered. We've been in plenty of scrapes before, and that's _never_ happened to me—nothing even close. It just didn't seem to make sense."

He raised his hands helplessly. "I don't know what to believe," he admitted. "I feel like I'm just making excuses. If you want me out, or if one of you wants to lead… I won't say no." He sighed. "You asked me to be your Guildmaster," he said. "If that's not what you want anymore… it's your Guild, not mine."

"Wrong," Diabel said simply. "It started out as our group, but it wasn't a guild until you joined. And now… if it's anyone's, as a guild, Kirito, it's definitely yours."

"No one else could lead us," Dweion said seriously. "Diabel can bring people together, I can keep them confident, Kasui can make them proud to stand with us… but only you can make them a Guild."

Kirito looked from one to another of them. He looked down. "I…" he tried, and gave up. "Thank you," he said.

Diabel grinned at him. "Don't mention it."

Kirito blinked for a moment before moving on. "Finally," he continued, "Intel." He looked around the group. "I was tired last night," he admitted, "and I wasn't thinking straight, and I'll be honest, I thought he seemed like a good potential replacement for my strategy on the team."

Dweion snorted. "Like some snot-nosed kid with too much in his head and a chip on his shoulder could ever replace you," he chuckled.

Kirito smiled slightly. "All the same," he continued, "after sleeping on it… I still think the kid would make a good addition."

Kasui nodded slowly. "He's certainly intelligent," she agreed. "The name would be silly otherwise."

"And he does need a team to get to the clearing areas," Diabel put in. "His work is important."

"Regardless of anything else," Asuna said, "we should contact him about the status-condition thing. It sounds like exactly the sort of information he looks for."

Kirito nodded. "I'll definitely do that," he agreed. "But as to his membership. I don't think we know him well enough yet to accept him fully."

"Not to mention Dweion doesn't like him," Kasui teased.

Dweion looked offended. "I got along with him fine!"

"Only because you get along with everyone," Diabel chimed in. "Even people you don't like. Like Intel."

Dweion huffed. "He's an arrogant brat," he muttered. "People like that just bother me."

"But," Kirito spoke over the argument, "I think he has the potential to be a valuable member of the Guild. I propose we accept him as a probationary member, from which we'll accept him fully or reject him when we decide whether or not we can get along with him."

Diabel nodded. "Assuming we can make it a deal he can agree to," he said, "I think it's a good idea."

There were nods all around. Kirito stood. "All right," he said. "I'll send Intel a message, and we'll see what he says."

* * *

 **A/N: I'd like to take a moment to announce a change in my policy regarding reviews. I'm not actually sure what it was when I last posted here—it's been in flux for a while—but these days I respond to any review that I think has something insightful or otherwise interesting to say, but don't bother responding to those which I can't make a length response to. That isn't to say I'm not grateful for one-line reviews; I just won't answer them.**

 **In addition, fanfiction authors often take this space to request reviews. I won't be doing that anymore, if I ever did. My stance is "reviews are appreciated but not solicited." I came to the conclusion, partly because of the particular type of review this story was receiving, that I was getting too invested in what other people thought of my writing, so I stepped back and reminded myself that I'm writing for my own enjoyment, and only sharing it for others'. As such, the reviews and comments I might receive are not vital to the process. I do read them, I do appreciate them, but I won't ask for them.**


	5. Chapter 5: An Undesired Party

**A/N: It looks like my experiment of writing chapters one in advance doesn't really work.**

* * *

Chapter 5: An Undesired Party

" _The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out."  
-J. R. R. Tolkien_

* * *

"Intel, what can you tell me about these things?" Kirito kept his voice low as he asked the question.

The six members—including Intel, who was still probationary—of the Black Knights had split into two groups of three for grinding today. Asuna was leading Dweion and Kasui through a small cave-type dungeon in the southern part of the second floor, while Kirito led Intel and Diabel in an exploration of the floor's Labyrinth.

Intel studied the creatures—Chimeras—before them. They had each a lion's head on their necks, but in addition a goat's head sprung from their upper back and their long tails ended in a snake's hissing visage. Their front claws _clicked_ and their back hooves _clacked_ on the marble floors of the dungeon.

"Their primary heads," Intel said slowly, "look like first-floor Lions, and their middle heads are NPC's goats. As in, the avatar is identical. We can expect similar abilities. The third head worries me."

Kirito nodded. "Poison?" he asked.

"Possibly," Intel said, "but look. They're not all the same textures—the snakes are different. Do you want me to pull out my Encyclopedia Infandus?"

The Encyclopedia Infandus was Intel's project. It was a file in his player's log which he planned to send to the first floor each time he cleared a new floor. It contained his data on every monster in the floor that he had managed to observe or hear of secondhand.

"Think they're all other snake-type mobs?" Kirito asked.

Intel nodded. "I do. We can expect different types of status effects from each. That one, there—" he pointed at a Chimera whose snake-tail was patterned with red diamonds over black scales "—is a Pit Serpent; remember how it gave Kasui 'Disorientation'?"

Kirito nodded with a grimace. The 'Disoriented' status was far less dangerous then 'Panic' or 'Insanity', the two worst mental status effects in Aincrad, but it had effectively rendered Kasui a sitting duck for the remainder of that fight. Kirito had barely been able to keep her alive by having Dweion use a Sword Skill in conjunction with their environment to keep the snakes away.

Mental status effects had begun appearing in earnest across the second floor. It had gotten to the point that Argo had released a warning to all players about them. No one had a response as of yet. It had made solo play an order of magnitude more dangerous, because a solo player who Panicked or went Insane was practically guaranteed to die.

"How's your Observe?" Kirito asked Intel.

Intel shook his head. "Not enough to give me detailed data on these things," he said. "It was the first thing I tried. They're level sixteen, in case you were wondering."

"I was," Kirito confirmed. It had been three weeks since the first floor was cleared, and their levels had shot up on the new floor. Kirito had broken level sixteen himself two days before, while Asuna had caught up with him the next day. Diabel, Dweion, and Kasui remained at level fifteen, although Diabel looked to follow them up soon, and Intel had nearly caught up, currently at level thirteen.

"I think we can take them one at a time," Kirito said slowly. "Will their AI allow for isolation?"

Intel bit his lip. "Lions don't converge like this at all," he said quietly. "You never see this many of them in one place without Lionesses. Snake-types never collaborate with other snake-types, either. They're acting like Goats, and Goats are nearly impossible to isolate."

Kirito nodded. "Then we fall back," he decided. "Quietly; don't draw attention. Diabel, take a DEF Decoction, in case we need you to cover our escape."

Diabel nodded wordlessly and pulled out a bottle. He uncapped it and threw it back in one long draught as they began to creep quietly away from the Chimera nest, careful not to dislodge any stones or other junk as they walked.

Once he felt safe enough, Kirito straightened up and looked around. "Anyone see somewhere we can put up a sign?" he asked his teammates. "We should put up some kind of warning."

Diabel nodded, looking slightly ill, and pointed at a patch of visible loam on the wall where the Labyrinth's stones parted. "Plant it in the wall," he croaked. "Write sideways. Christ, I hate decoctions…"

Kirito gave him a sympathetic grin as he gestured to Intel. "Intel, if you would?"

Intel, as the mastermind behind their efforts to control and catalogue upper-floor mobs, was their designated carrier of warning signs. He nodded, drew one out of his inventory, and planted it firmly in the wall.

"All right," he said, turning to Kirito. "Where to next?"

Kirito opened his map and scanned its area. Most of this section of the labyrinth had now been explored, save for the areas past the Chimeras.

"We could go west," he said. "There's a spawn area for Drakes we'll have to go through, and then we'll be in an unexplored sec—" he stopped as a small chime echoed in his ears and an icon appeared in his interface.

"Message," he said with a frown. "Give me a minute."

He opened the text and scanned it quickly.

 _Kirito,_

 _We need to talk about things other than bosses, don't we? Afraid that's not going to happen this time. I need Argo the Rat's contact info. My guild's scouting group just found the second floor boss, and she's the only one who I think can get all the clearers organized. Help a guy out?_

 _Klein_

Kirito blinked and swallowed. "Boss was just found," he told his teammates, hitting the reply button. "Diabel, send a Guild message to the others while I respond to this."

 _Klein,_

 _Good job finding the room. Argo's playerID is_

Kirito quickly tabbed out of the message composer and into his friends list, took note of Argo's identifier, and returned to the message.

 _00257\. Mind ccing me in whatever you send her?_

 _Kirito_

He sent the message and quickly popped open the Guild message Diabel had sent.

 _Someone else found the boss, messaged Kirito. Orders incoming._

 _Diabel_

Kirito nodded and looked between his two guildmates. "I think…"

A chime. Kirito held up a hand as he checked his inbox.

 _Kirito,_

 _Sure! ;)_

 _Klein_

Kirito closed the message and continued. "I think we should head back out," he said. "Get everyone back to headquarters and make a plan."

Diabel nodded. "We'll need to gear up," he agreed. "Make sure we're fully ready for a fight. Shopping might take a full day, and we'll want to go through our loot and make sure there's nothing we can use."

Kirito opened his guild tab and typed an announcement.

 _Black Knights, report to headquarters for debriefing and further orders. We need to prepare._

 _Kirito_

* * *

 _Argo the Rat, (cc: Kirito)_

 _We haven't met, but I'm Klein, leader of the clearer guild Fūrinkazan. Kirito sent me your playerID so I could contact you. My guild found the second floor boss earlier today, and we wanted to see if you could get the clearers together to plan a raid._

 _This boss looks harder than Illfang was. I wasn't in the beta, so I can't be sure. It's called Asterius the Taurus King, and it's level seventeen. None of my people are even level sixteen. Should we wait to assault it? I don't think we can do it without getting everyone on board._

 _Keep me posted, please!_

 _Klein_

…

 _Klein, (cc: Kirito)_

 _Raids during the beta were much less organized, but the stakes were lower. Contacting me was a good idea. I'll get in touch with the other clearing guilds I have contact with and get fliers posted on the second floor. Kirito, can we use your guild house as a meeting place?_

 _Argo the Rat_

…

 _Argo, (cc: Klein)_

 _Go ahead. Let me know if I should expect Heathcliff to show._

 _Kirito_

…

 _General message: Being sent to all Guildmasters and Guild representatives in contact with Argo the Rat_

 _The second floor boss was located earlier today by the guild Fūrinkazan. They requested that the clearers be organized to respond. All players involved in clearing efforts are requested to report to the Black Knights guild house at 9:00 AM tomorrow for organization._

 _Argo the Rat_

…

 _Kirito (cc: Klein)_

 _Expect him._

 _Argo_

* * *

Kirito's eyes opened with his alarm. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. His HUD clock told him it was 8 in the morning.

He let himself take a moment to remember the previous day and plan the coming one.

Then his eyes opened again. _Right,_ he thought, _Heathcliff. Boss._

He stretched and swung his legs over the side of his bed before standing up. He took his time navigating his menus, and considered carefully before putting on a nicer-looking black coat than his usual fare, with slightly lower stats. _This is going to be a different kind of fight,_ Kirito mused, _and stats won't help me here._

He stepped out and was greeted by Diabel leaving his room across the hall. The man had clearly been thinking along the same lines, and had discarded his usual silver and blue platemail in favor of black and blue scalemail to match Kirito's colors.

The blue-haired man nodded approvingly at Kirito's garb. "The old battle-worn armor is not the call for this one," he said. "We should get the others to change, too. Probably into something black, to fit the Guild colors."

Kirito shrugged. "That's not a big deal for me," he said. "I think I might rather we keep with our own colors, actually."

Diabel shrugged noncommittally. "It's your call, of course," he said. "But if you take my advice, we'll go in uniform for this."

Kirito nodded. "You're the speaker," he said. "We'll do it your way. I'll tell Intel and Asuna."

He turned to his right and walked down the hall to the two newer members' rooms. He knocked lightly on Asuna's door first. "Asuna," he called softly. "You up?"

"Come in, Kirito!" her voice answered from within. He did.

Asuna was just putting on her red and white battledress as he entered. She turned to smile at him. "Ready for the day?" she asked. Then she noticed his outfit. "You look nice," she said. "What's the occasion?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "We'll want to look our best for this meeting," he said. "Heathcliff, the leader of the Blood Oath, and I… we don't get along. Diabel said we should try to coordinate our uniforms to my colors."

Asuna smiled amusedly. "So… black?"

Kirito rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. "His idea, not mine. He's in something black and blue, so it's not _all_ black."

Asuna chuckled. "Only you wear _all_ black." She flicked through her menu, considering. "I've got three outfits that would work," she said thoughtfully. "Do you want to help me decide?"

He backed away nervously. "I'd rather you picked…"

She looked at him in amusement. "Come on, I don't bite. Here's the first one."

She tapped a button and her clothing swapped into a chainmail battledress with black rings and a white cloth tunic over it. She studied it critically. "Bit loose," she mused. "Well, here's the second one."

Another tap, and her outfit swapped to a two-piece plateskirt and platemail, black with red trim. The top was classic MMO female armor; barely more than metal underwear.

Asuna frowned at her bare shoulders. "Too eye-catching, maybe?" she wondered. "I'm not leader; probably shouldn't be the focus." She glanced up at him with a wink. "What do you think, Kirito?" she pirouetted gracefully. "Do I look nice?"

He swallowed and fought to keep his eyes on her face. "Yes," he said firmly. "You do. The third one?"

She giggled. "Sorry, Kirito," she apologized, swapping outfits again. The new outfit was a little away from her usual fare; a lighter, hardened-cloth one-piece which hugged her form closely and opened to show skin in places, but was far from the revealing mess that the previous outfit had been. It opened to allow her shoulders air, and the skirt was relatively short, but otherwise the outfit seemed legitimately protective. It was primarily black with red trim.

She looked pleased. "I like this one," she said. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "It's your pick."

She looked at him, deadpan. "Thanks for the honest opinion, Kirito."

He ducked his head embarrassedly. "You look nice in any of them," he complained. "What do you want me to say?"

She sighed exasperatedly. "You really don't know how to help a woman shop, do you?"

Kirito threw up his hands. "Not exactly my area of expertise, no," he said flatly. "I'm a fourteen-year-old gamer who looks like a girl, what do you expect?"

There was a beat of silence. Kirito didn't look at Asuna.

"Sorry," he said, turning around and opening the door. "I didn't mean to shout. Just… wear whatever you want. Diabel said that our colors would be best. I need to tell Intel."

He left the room and leaned back against the closed door, rubbing his face. His thoughts were jumbled in a way he opted not to even try to decipher. After a moment he crossed to Intel's room and opened its door.

Intel was already dressed in his usual armor and was currently flicking through his menus rapidly. He nodded at Kirito as he entered. "I was just looking through the public data I've collected on the guilds who are showing," the boy said by way of greeting. "Some interesting backgrounds here."

Kirito nodded. "First of all," he said, "Diabel wants us in dress uniforms, in my colors—black and whatever trim you want."

Intel nodded and flicked through to his inventory before swapping into something that looked less like armor and more like a tailored suit whose undershirt happened to be white ringmail. "Will this do?" he asked.

Kirito nodded. "Sure," he said. "What do you have on the Guilds?"

Intel shrugged and flicked back to his text files. "We've got four major guilds showing up," he said, "and you already know Fūrinkazan and—well, us—as well as I do. The other two are the Blood Oath and the Divine Dragon Alliance. The ALF is sending a squad too, but they're not a political entity in any way and have basically told their men to follow whoever leads the charge."

Kirito nodded. "That suits what I know about Thinker," he agreed. He still hadn't met the man, but Argo had kept him posted regarding first-floor goings-on. "What about the DDA? What's their angle?"

Intel shrugged. "Expect them to break formation to go for the last attack," he said. "Other than that, they haven't really shown much. They're large, but they've had a disproportionately small number of confrontations and meetings with the Blood Oath. Any idea why?"

Kirito nodded. "They're keeping out of Heathcliff's way," he said. "With only two floors available, Aincrad's a bit claustrophobic for looters like them. They're being extra careful to avoid stepping on any powerful toes. And the Blood Oath? Any information on them?"

Intel frowned. "They're obviously our biggest rivals," he said slowly. "I don't know the first thing about psychology, but even I expect Heathcliff will want to lead the charge against the boss." He studied Kirito sidelong. "Other than that, though… I don't really see why you dislike him so much. The man seems like a driven, powerful individual whose goals are the same as our own."

Kirito nodded, his face set. "Yeah," he agreed. "He is that. He's a lot of other things, but he is that." He shrugged. "It's the other things I object to."

Intel cocked his head. "Other things?" he asked. "What sort?"

Kirito grimaced. "Heathcliff wore red and white before the Blood Oath even formed," he said, "whereas the DDA's colors were determined by vote when the Guild was created. That ring any alarm bells?"

Intel shrugged. "Not really," he admitted. "Should it? Heathcliff's Guildmaster—it's his call."

Kirito shook his head slowly. "Maybe," he acknowledged. "I don't know. It's just a feeling I get about him. He's… egotistical, in a way that rubs me wrong."

"Kirito," Intel admonished. " _I'm_ egotistical."

Kirito snorted. "He's subtler about it," he said, "and not in the good way. The Blood Oath has always been a little too… cultish for my tastes."

Intel nodded. "I guess I can understand that," he said. He closed his menu and stood. "We're low on time," he said, "and my map says Asuna's in the kitchen, so I expect we'll have food to serve our guests. Shall we head down?"

Kirito nodded and opened the door. "After you," he said, holding it open for the younger boy.

* * *

"Ki-bou," Argo greeted as they entered the drawing room. "Good to see you're still alive."

Kirito gave her a grin. "Argo," he acknowledged. "You're early."

The room was a medium-sized affair with windows on one wall opening out into a view of the plains where, three weeks ago, the Black Knights had almost been killed by the Wolfman. The bright sunlight of the clear day streamed in and lit the burnished oaken floorboards until they seemed to glow. Adorning the other walls were landscape paintings, all of locations on the first and second floor Kirito had now been to. In one corner to Kirito's left a floor lamp sat unlit.

Argo shrugged carelessly. "Someone has to be first," she said airily. Then she narrowed her eyes at Intel. "And this must be the 'Intel' I've heard so much about."

Intel nodded a greeting. "Argo the Rat," he said. "A pleasure."

She studied him closely. "Likewise," she said finally. "Although if you start butting into my market more than you already are, it'll be less so."

Intel frowned at her in apparent confusion. "I'm not trying to compete with you at all," he protested calmly. "Our areas of interest are completely different."

Argo rolled her eyes. "Information brokerage is information brokerage," she said philosophically. "You know the difference; I know the difference… the clientele doesn't."

Intel nodded slowly. "I don't plan on selling information I don't have," he said, a slight edge to his voice. "I hope you don't either."

Argo chuckled. "Wouldn't get many repeat customers that way, would I?" she asked rhetorically. "Don't worry: I'll give you space if you do the same for me."

Intel nodded sharply. "Agreed," he said, and took a seat in an armchair on the opposite side of the room from Argo. Kirito nudged him gently with a hand before making his way to a seat near the coffee table in the center of the room.

"How have you been, Argo?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and turning his head to face the girl.

She shrugged and emulated his posture. "Well enough," she said. "Business hasn't really picked up yet because there's not enough trivia on two floors to sell. Mostly I'm selling the same bits of basic information repeatedly to the slower newbies. I'm hoping the third floor will give me a few more secrets to trade in."

Kirito nodded. "Here's hoping," he said. "Let's focus on getting up there."

"I can get behind that," Diabel agreed, entering the room from behind Kirito. "Argo, welcome!"

Argo smirked at him. "Diabel," she greeted. "Kasui, Dweion. Good to see you all." She looked shrewdly at Kirito. "Asuna introduced herself when I came in," she said. "She's in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She seemed… introspective."

Kirito couldn't keep his teeth from gritting momentarily. "You buying this information?" he asked casually.

Argo threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, well done, Ki-bou! You win, you win. I'll let it go."

Kirito nodded. "Shame," he said. "I could use the Col."

Before Argo could respond, there was a knock on the door. Kirito stood immediately, but Diabel spoke.

"Sit down, Guildmaster," he said quickly. "I'll let them in. You shouldn't be the one answering the door."

Kirito rolled his eyes and sat back down. "Don't call me that," he told Diabel's retreating back.

Diabel waved his hand dismissively behind him as he entered the hall. There was a beat of silence before the door opened.

"Diabel," came the voice Kirito had half hoped wouldn't be appearing quite yet. "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

"Quite well, Heathcliff," Diabel's voice responded. "I hear the Blood Oath has been recruiting heavily among talented newbies. Sounds like you're doing quite well."

"I could say much the same to you," Heathcliff's voice answered. "I hear Kirito's been recruiting as well."

"Somewhat, yes," Diabel confirmed, "but I'm being a bad host. Come in, come in. The others are in the drawing room."

There was the sound of armored feet and then Diabel emerged from the hall, leading three men in heavy red and white plate armor.

The leader of the three stepped past Diabel with a smile and held out a hand to the leader of the Black Knights. "Kirito," Heathcliff greeted merrily, his warm eyes twinkling. "It's been too long."

Kirito stood with a smile and shook the older man's gauntleted hand. "Heathcliff," he greeted. "Welcome to Black Knights headquarters."

Heathcliff nodded, looking around the base appreciatively. "It's small," he said thoughtfully, "but cozy, and you're not looking to expand the way the Blood Oath is. It's a good fit for your guild."

Kirito nodded. "We certainly thought so," he said. He gestured to the chairs around the table and the room at large. "Sit down, please," he offered, "and introduce me to your people."

Heathcliff nodded and took a seat opposite Kirito at the table. His men took up standing positions at his flanks. The leader of the Blood Oath introduced them in turn. "This," he introduced, nodding at a tall, red-bearded man with a face that might as well have been chiseled out of stone—he reminded Kirito of a more serious Dweion, "is Godfree, my Vice-Commander. This," he continued, nodding at a thin man, corded with wiry muscle, who had greasy black hair, "is Avion, Commander of the Vanguard."

Kirito greeted them both and was answered with silent nods. Then he turned back to Heathcliff. "Fūrinkazan should be here any time now," he said. "We can't really start until they can tell us something about the boss and the layout of the Labyrinth. Argo," he asked, turning to the girl, "do you happen to know who else is showing?"

Argo fiddled with her interface for a moment before pulling up a text file. "Well, us," she said. "and Fūrinkazan, of course. The Divine Dragon Alliance promised to send someone as well. In addition, I was contacted by an independent. A merchant named Agil—ring any bells?"

"He was with us in the raid on the first floor," Diabel put in. "He was the man who confronted Kibaō, do you remember, Guildmaster?"

Kirito nodded. "Yeah, I remember." The man had been large and dark-skinned, but Kirito hadn't gotten a close look. "Don't call me that."

Just then there was a knock at the door. 'Diabel?" Kirito asked, looking over at the blue-haired man.

Diabel nodded with a grin and left the room to answer. He returned with Klein and another man Kirito remembered from the raid on Illfang. "I thought it would be a good idea not to fill up the whole house with my guild," Klein said by way of explanation. "This is Dale, my second." The man was large—both tall and wide—and clad in red, with a large broadsword on his back.

Kirito gave him a grin. "Klein, Dale," he greeted. "Take a seat, both of you."

Klein did so beside Kirito at the table. Dale gave the Blood Oath soldiers a glance before taking his own seat farther back.

"Klein, Dale," Kirito introduced, "These are Heathcliff, Guildmaster of the Blood Oath," Heathcliff smiled at Klein with a nod. "and Godfree and Avion, his Vice-Commander and the Commander of his Vanguard."

Klien greeted the men with a raised left hand and a shake of Heathcliff's right. "Nice to meet you, Heathcliff," he said. "Heard a lot about you."

Heathcliff nodded humbly. "The Blood Oath has done well for itself," he said.

Another knock. Diabel went to get the door unprompted.

"I haven't heard much," Heathcliff said as Diabel left, turning to Klein, "about your observations. I hear that Baran the Taurus General was found earlier in the Labyrinth?"

Kirito nodded. "We found Baran," he confirmed. "Although he was nerfed slightly from the beta—just a damage debuff."

The Taurus General had been the boss of the second floor during the beta. When it had been found halfway through the labyrinth, it had been concerning. Whatever the new boss was, its attack pattern would be entirely new.

"We've been seeing a lot of Taurus monsters on the floor, though," Intel said. "Like the Kobolds last floor. It seems likely that it'll be another Taurus."

"It is," Klein confirmed, but was cut off when Diabel returned, leading three men. One of them Kirito recognized as the bulky, dark-skinned man from the raid on Illfang. The other two were clad in similar bright silvery armor over blue cloth padding. One wore a closed helmet over his face, exposing only a clean-shaven mouth and chin, and carried a longsword and shield strapped to his back. The other's green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair were exposed.

Kirito stood. "Agil, right?" he asked the bald, dark man, extending a hand. "We've met."

Agil nodded with a slight smile and shook his hand firmly. "I remember you from the raid," he said, "although I thought Diabel was the leader at first."

Kirito chuckled. "A fiction we like to maintain," he admitted. "Diabel's a better face for the guild." He turned to the other two. "You must be the representative from the DDA?" He asked.

The man with the unmasked face nodded firmly. "Yes," he said. "I'm Arthas, Guildmaster of the DDA. This is Shivata, one of our Enforcers."

Kirito shook their hands in turn. "Nice to meet you, Arthas, Shivata," he said. "Take a seat. Argo," he sat as he turned to the girl. "Is this everyone?"

"It should be," she nodded.

"Just in time," came Asuna's voice from the kitchen. Kirito turned in his seat to see her standing in the doorway with a large covered pot carried in both hands. She gave Kirito a slightly strained smile. "Breakfast is ready," she said. "Shall we move to the dining room, or should I get trays out?"

Kirito stood. "Let's move to the dining room," he decided. "Klein can brief us over food, and we can spread a map and discuss the plan when we finish." The drawing doom was getting crowded anyway, and the larger dining hall would have room for this many.

Heathcliff nodded. "Lead the way, then, Kirito."

Asuna fell into step beside Kirito as he led the party of fifteen down the wide corridor and turned left into the dining room. The hall had its only high windows in the back wall, which sent beams of sunlight over the tables. Its ceiling rose up to the second floor of the house, and torches lined the walls, suffusing the room with a gentle, warm light. The bronze chandelier on the ceiling only aided the homely atmosphere, as did the merrily crackling fireplace in the back wall. One round table lay in the center of the large room, with one seat just before the fire and another near the door. Sixteen chairs were set around it, each with a place already set.

Kirito circumnavigated the table and took the seat just in front of the fire. The warmth seemed to drain the tension slightly out of his frame, which had felt tight as a coiled spring from the moment Heathcliff had arrived. He hoped it wasn't showing.

Diabel took the seat immediately to his right. Asuna claimed the seat to his left by pulling it out and setting her pot down in front of it. He glanced at her quickly as she did so, but she didn't look at him.

Heathcliff sat on Asuna's other side while the rest of the Black Knights sat past Diabel. Klein took the next seat after them on Kirito's right, and Argo sat directly across from him. The only empty seat was the one to her immediate left.

Asuna pulled away from the table. "I'll get the rest," she said. "Feel free to start without me."

"We'll wait," Kirito said firmly, watching her for any sign of acknowledgement. All he got was a quick glance as she turned toward the door.

"Dweion, come on," Kasui said, standing herself. "Let's help her. Knowing Asuna, she's prepared a month's worth of feasts."

Dweion chuckled as he rose. "With your permission, Guildmaster?"

Kirito nodded. "Go ahead," he said. "And—"

"—Don't call you that, got it," Dweion said with a chortle as he followed Kasui out.

Kirito gave Heathcliff a quick glance as he rolled his eyes. _Sometimes I wonder if ruling with an iron fist is the way to go,_ he mused.

"I recognize most of your guild members," Heathcliff said conversationally, "but Asuna and Intel are new to me. What are their roles?"

"Intel's our logistics and intelligence coordinator," Kirito explained, giving the boy a nod. "Asuna's..." he considered for a moment. "She's a fighter, like the rest of us, but she's also been a great help in keeping things stable between us. She's a great mediator."

Heathcliff nodded sagely. "It is important," he agreed, "to have someone to explain to you how other people feel. I find that I sometimes have trouble with it."

"I think everyone does, on occasion," Kirito said dryly.

At that moment, Asuna led Dweion and Kasui back into the room with plates upon plates of food, and if that wasn't enough to drive the conversation from Kirito's mind, his relief when Asuna's hand brushed his as she took her seat next to him was.

* * *

 **A/N: This story now has a mirror on SpaceBattles, which will recieve slightly less-polished versions of the chapters one day earlier for purposes of receiving edits. Thank you to Mizu on there for his assistance with error correction.**

 **As always, reviews are appreciated but not solicited.**


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